The Twilight Hour
by forgottenyouth
Summary: Hiccup and the Riders receive a distress signal from far beyond the archipelago, to the unfamiliar world to the south. As Hiccup questions his ability to be a chief, Astrid asks herself where she's willing to go for her boyfriend, and Snotlout remembers the only person he really cares for, it's a race against time to save a fellow human a horrible fate from 2 legendary dragons.
1. Author's Confessions

**Hey everyone!**

**I'm a bit new here, so I might not exactly know how this works…sorry!**  
**Anyway, I loved HTTYD from the instance it came out—and I actually had the idea for this story from the instance I watched the Hidden World. However, my mom said I was too old for this kind of "junk" (:O I know) and that I was being childish. **  
**I should probably also tell you I am still a child—I am barely 13.**

** Then I discovered this cool thing called FanFiction. And my idea exploded. **  
**I've been drawing and writing story boards for the past month before I found this place.**

** This is a story about Hiccup and Astrid and the rest of the dragon riders after HTTYD2. They receive a distress signal from far beyond their borders, farther than they've ever gone before. Hiccup is still worried about his father's death and Astrid is questioning her choice of Hiccup, and what he considers her as. Snotlout remembers someone he left behind during race to the edge. Fishlegs and Ruffnut get closer, and Tuff gets reunited with his precious chicken. **

**Some things you should know about me:**  
**I am in 8th grade, cuz I started early**  
**I'm a vegan :(**  
**I got a 32 on my ACT first try, last year in December 2018. It was the proudest moment of my life so far. **  
**I'm taking 3 creative writing and 2 animation electives at my homeschool, and I'm starting something called 'creative animation,' which I'm assuming is both at once. It'd be really cool if I could get into DreamWorks when I grow up. **

**Also-you can cringe if you want-but I dedicate this to Caroline Ayers, who was always there when I needed her, even when my nose was stuck in a book. Thanks for everything Karo! btw I ship Carlin! Love ya-as a friend, of course :)**

**There, that was pretty long, but hope it was worth it.  
**

**Well, here you are! Hope you enjoy!**  
**I'll try to update as much as I can.**

**Peace out dudes and dudettes**


	2. Nightmare

**Nightmare**

* * *

"NO! TOOTHLESS! Please, no!"

The dragon doesn't hear him. Eyes locked in slits, the Night Fury slowly stalks his former master.

"SON!" The huge man runs much too fast for someone his size, his son's shocked face reflecting across his wide eyes…but his thoughts are so clear that the boy can hear them…  
_'I'm sorry Val…'_

Toothless opens his mouth, with no remorse in his eyes.

The huge flash happens in slow motion…the chief of Berk stares death in his eye, but jumps anyway…he doesn't even see his son thrown clear of the blast…  
The boy slowly pushes himself up, then sees his chief, his father, on the ground, unmoving.

"NOOO!" He screams, trying to reach his father. But his voice sounds strangely silent, his feet are slipping on the ice. He struggles, but the dragon is cloaking him in darkness…horrible, chilling, mind-numbing darkness, as one voice rings out. "YOU ARE NOTHING…"  
The scene collapses; the boy still races, but only gets farther away…  
Then it changes.

The ground is the pleasant green of spring. The sky is blue, no trace of any clouds. He can hear birds chirping, the croaking of frogs. The boy is much younger, and he is enjoying himself. His father is hale and hearty, and looks happily at his little son, running next to his mother...

The sky suddenly darkens. His family's grins turn into horrible scowls. And suddenly, like a giant blanket, the darkness finds him again…  
"All your fault, son."  
The boy turns this way and that, flailing wildly in the horrible cloak.  
"MOM! DAD!"  
"You're not a viking…_you're not my son…_"  
The darkness collapses, leaving only an empty hole, shaped like the silhouette of his father, lying on the ground, already unmoving; no people to rule, no wife to comfort him, no son at all…

A horrible keening can be heard, the cry of the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself…  
He, it, nestled next to the unwilling boy, smiling, teeth gleaming…  
"I thank you, my master. I very much enjoyed that…"  
"NO. NO! NO!" The boy flails, trying to get away from the horrible vision. Toothless had never spoken like that! It wasn't him! He tried to reason with him, even shouting, but the dragon stalked him slowly, crooning all the while. His eyes turn to slits, his mouth smokes, the purple glow in his throat is already visible…

"SON!"  
"NO! DAD, NO!"  
"TOOTHLESS, NO!"

The dragon paused, relishing his victory.  
The shot fires, and crashes into the lifeless body.  
The horrific demon roars its triumph…

* * *

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

Hiccup sat up, throwing off his covers, whole body shaking, tears already in his eyes. He looked around wildly, fully expecting a giant black shadow to detach from the walls and end his life.  
His heart slowed, as he realized it was just another dream, a horrible, bone-chilling nightmare. One that was much worse than the series he had been having for the past few weeks.

Berk's new chief sneezed once, then twice. He rolled out of his bed, groaning at the sharp pains shooting up his stump, and slowly hopped his way to the window. He picked up his discarded prosthesis and strapped it on, almost falling over. He still didn't completely have the hang of it, even after 5 years…  
A strange purr interrupted his still groggy brain.

Hiccup turned around, still half-asleep, and to his horror, he locked eyes on the same horrible vision he had seen in his nightmare…red tail fin, black scales, huge shadowy wings, slit eyes…  
He backed away, heart pounding again. The monster opened its mouth, and Hiccup cringed away, silently praying to Odin…but something seemed off. He dared open his eyes, and look closer at the beast before him…closer at the open mouth. Wait..._no gleaming teeth_! He was…toothless. Wait. Toothless!

His heart skipped a beat, and he released his breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This was his beloved Toothless, his amazing, trusted, and perfect friend, not any hideous demon.  
For his part, Toothless was pretty confused. However, he took it in stride; he was used to his rider's weird ideas. He waited patiently for his morning scratch. He crooned once when he felt his friend's soft hand on his snout.

_'I'm going crazy.'_ Hiccup thought to himself, heart slowing for the second time. He was scratching his dragon behind the ears. He loved that._ 'This dragon, _my _dragon, wouldn't hurt him…'_  
Hiccup sighed, and stood up. He needed to get out of this place… Berk had too many memories he wasn't willing to face. But, he was chief now. He couldn't! He sent a silent apology to his dead father, then turned back to the wide-eyed dragon before him.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this bud. Don't worry—it will never, never happen again. I promise."  
Toothless purred in agreement. Hiccup nodded once, and gave a small grimace as a stab of pain shot up his injured leg. "Mind giving me a hand, bud?"  
The dragon raised his head so Hiccup's arm could rest on it, and gave him a little shove. "Okay, okay, I'm going!" Hiccup laughed.

And just like that, the two friends walked out into the cold night air.

Neither one was wishing nor able to dwell on the past—because it was much too painful.

* * *

**A/N: Rewrite added more details and thoughts. Hope you enjoyed!  
**


	3. Thinking of You

**Thinking of You…**

* * *

Hiccup walked out of his hut into the biting chill of the air, followed closely by Toothless. While Berk was always cold, even in summer, there was an unnatural frigidity that had descended on the small island. This was mainly because of all the ice—ever since Drago Bludvist's death, the whole village had been called for a massive clean-up and dumping of the Bewilderbeast's ice into the sea. While this was being expedited enormously by the large (to say the least) pack of dragons released from its power, there were still large patches of ice everywhere—outside the doors, on the windows, even on the giant statue of the former chief, Stoick the Vast, that was resting outside the doors of the great hall. It was in fact this "former" status that made Hiccup feel the chill much more than everyone else. He sighed once more. Not a good start to the day

"Sorry bud. I really am acting like a grump today, aren't I?" He asked his Night Fury regretfully.

Toothless wrinkled his nose in a sympathetic sort of way. He didn't remember what happened to his dearest friend's father, but he realized he was the one who caused it. He was immensely grateful to Hiccup for breaking the Alpha's hold on him, and for forgiving him for what he did. His eyes widened when he realized how to make his friend stop sighing so much.

"Hey, bud!" Hiccup laughed as Toothless nudged him forward a little bit. Unknown to Hiccup, Toothless was pushing him right where a hard-to-spot patch of ice was lying. It was decently hidden from human eyes, but no match for a Night Fury's keen senses.

"Toothless! Hey Bu—WHOA!"

His metal leg slipped on the frozen ground, and he fell, almost somersaulting as he tripped backward and hit the ground hard.

"TOOTHLESS!"

Toothless gave his signature gurgle; it was quite obvious he was laughing.

"Bad dragon! Very, _very _bad dragon." Hiccup got up, checking quickly around to see if anyone had seen his humiliating slip. Hiccup saw no one, so he dusted off his vest in a relieved fashion. That's when it hit him.

"Where is everyone?"

* * *

As Hiccup glided over Berk, he sighed again, not even caring if Toothless thought him a grumpy passenger.

He had found the people of Berk outside the Great Hall, bowing in reverence to his late father's statue. He had realized that his presence, as the new chief of Berk, would be considered intrusive; so all he did was circle a couple of times up high, not enough time to be noticed but enough to pay his own respects. He scratched Toothless thoughtfully, not paying much attention to where they were going. If he had, he would have probably noticed the sleek blue dragon soaring around them. Its rider was, in fact, the only person who had looked up and seen the black silhouette of Toothless on the sky.

Toothless flew on and on, with the blue following carefully. Hiccup lost track of time up there in the clouds. He always loved the skies above Berk—they were so peaceful, and spending time up there could really change your perspective on things. In fact, he thought with a smile, these skies had changed the perspective of one of the village's fiercest dragon haters. Now, she was, impossibly, his fiancée. His smile widened as he thought of the hair-raising ride Toothless had given them. Not the most romantic of first dates, especially since it started with Astrid beating him up and threatening to do much worse.

Toothless pricked up, and looked around. Hiccup laughed, because he seemed to have read his mind. He scratched Toothless a couple of times, then resumed his thoughts. Toothless had, in fact, picked up on another dragon entering their vicinity-and he smiled a toothless smile when he recognized the scent of the dragon and the rider. He slowed down imperceptibly, to give the Nadder a better chance of catching up. Night Furies are _fast_, even when soaring.

All the warning Hiccup had was a rush of wind before he felt a thump right behind him on the saddle, and thin, warm arms wrapped around his waist. He let out a muffled shriek as the girl behind him pressed into his back, before realizing it was the very fiancée he had been daydreaming about.

"Astrid! We were just talking about you…"

Astrid raised her eyebrows. "Talking?"

"You know what I mean..."

She smiled. "Yeah, I do, don't I?" Toothless and her dragon, Stormfly, had started a squawking conversation. They were very close friends, the first and third dragons on Berk to ever trust a viking.

After a couple of minutes they felt Toothless slowing down, and the air rushed past them as they descended. When they looked down, they saw a small seastack, and farther out a cascade of trees once filled with orange color, but now cold and snow-caked. It looked strangely familiar...

Toothless touched down. Hiccup and Astrid slid off, and the exceptionally dangerous unholy offspring of lightning and death itself started rolling and playing in the grass like a newborn kitten.

"Wuss."

Toothless bared his teeth, and his tail flashed out, tripping up Hiccup almost the instant he said the word. He landed hard on the grass. _Again._

In Astrid's defense, she did try to hold it in. She really did. But at Hiccup's face, a combination of cute surprise and mild indignation, she couldn't hold it in. Tears of laughter ran down her face as she full-out _howled_ at the stricken Hiccup. She didn't even notice the look Stormfly gave her, and the single spine that she shot just behind her left leg.

"Oh gods, Hiccup, sorry, but you should have seen the look on your fa—AHH!" Hiccup saw it in slow motion-she backed up a little too much, and tripped over the spine. Astrid landed even harder then Hiccup had, and made a curious combination of a laugh and a whimper that had Hiccup fighting for breath as it was his turn to laugh. Astrid scowled, rolled over and swatted him. He narrowed his eyes. "Nuh-uh, not this time!" He started tickling her, and she squealed in indignation. She tried to get away, but Hiccup scrambled after her, and the ensuing scuffle was intense. Astrid had almost pinned Hiccup, who was squirming around like crazy, when they heard a loud _SNORT_. They immediately looked at the two dragons, who were watching them with a bored look in their eyes. It was obvious in both their eyes that Toothless had called either Hiccup or both of them a wuss. Hiccup was not very amused. He stuck his tongue out at them (which Toothless immediately copied) then turned around and sat down next to Astrid on the grass. Astrid was still giggling.

"Will you stop_ laughing_?" Hiccup said, exasperated. Astrid held her breath for about two seconds as she looked at Hiccup with what was meant as a cold, serious stare. Then she gave up and exploded laughing again, this time with Hiccup joining in at the look on her face.

"Those two plotted that, didn't they?" Astrid grinned back at Stormfly who fixed her with a coy '_squawk.'_

"Probably from the instance you jumped on Toothless." Hiccup smiled. "They really know how to make a couple enjoy themselves."

The two sat in comfortable silence for the next few minutes, Astrid leaning her head against Hiccup's shoulder and his arm around her. After a while, though, Astrid felt Hiccup shift. She looked up at his face. His expression was troubled, and he was just staring off into space. She sighed and sat up.

"Okay Hiccup—out with it."

He didn't respond immediately. She thought he hadn't heard the question until he suddenly spoke, very softly so she had to lean in to catch his words.

"I was just wondering…were Dad and Mom like…this? Were they this happy?"

"Oh, Hiccup." Astrid hugged him. She pulled away and looked at his face. His expression hadn't changed. She sighed again, and started braiding his hair; she loved doing that. "Hiccup, Stoick and Valka were just as happy as us, maybe more. That's why he never gave up on finding her again. He dedicated his life to being reunited with his family, his _whole_ family. And he did! His last days were his happiest in his whole life! You gotta stop thinking this is somehow your fault. He did what any good father would do—he sacrificed his own good for the good of his people, for you. For us. I don't know what I'd do if you were the one under that ice, Hiccup." She kissed his cheek.

Hiccup sighed.

Astrid saw what he was thinking, and frowned. "And don't you dare think that you could have stopped him. Stoick was at least 400 pounds, and however amazing you are, you can't even beat me in a tickle fight, and I'm _lighter_ than you." He smiled slightly.

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"Nope." She said happily. "You know its true."

He smiled tenderly as he turned his brilliant emerald gaze on her. She always had loved his eyes, even when he was the runt at dragon training. "Does it seem like this has happened before?"

"What? Me telling you what an idiot you are and that I love you? You think?"

He laughed at that and kissed her on the forehead. "Well, that to. But do you remember this place?"

Astrid squinted at the trees, then gasped as her mind filled in the absent colors, and a smoking trapper fort, way off in the distance. "This is that place? The one where you were talking about being chief! And we found that fort! And you called it that stupid name, what was it..."

"Itchy Armpit." Hiccup supplied with a grin. "Toothless' idea."

"Yeah, I bet. You just ran out of cool names and that dorky brain of yours started working overtime."

Hiccup laughed, and Astrid smiled with a slight sense of triumph. It was very hard to ever get Hiccup to talk about what was bothering him, and she seemed to have scored a small victory.

There was another moment of silence between them, but Astrid regretfully stood up and stretched. "Sorry Hiccup, I promised I would do an extra shift of ice clean-up. It starts pretty soon."

Hiccup looked up at her and smiled. "It's all right. I should fly back soon anyway. Anyway, you're Astrid—always helping everyone around her, even a one-legged, useless—_mmmff?_"

Astrid had instantly dropped down and kissed him, straight on the lips, effectively shutting him up. She held it for a couple of seconds, then pulled back. She smiled, which he returned in a goofy sort of way.

Then she punched him on the shoulder. _Hard._

"OWWW! What was that for?"

Astrid smiled in that cute way that Hiccup loved. "No one calls my babe useless and gets away with it." She walked over to Stormfly and saddled her up. Just before she flew away, she turned back to see the auburn-haired figure looking out into the trees again.

"What are you thinking about now?"

She couldn't see his face, but she knew he was smiling.

"I'm just thinking, Milady. I'm just thinking of you…"

* * *

**A/N: Rewrite added more dialogue, and I added the 'Tickle fight' and 'Astrid remembers' scenes. Hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Gotcha

**Gotcha**

* * *

"Okay, you sorry lot! On your feet, double quick!"

There was a huge number of grumbles, and the ice-encrusted vikings stayed lying where they were. Some even pulled there helmets over there eyes and went to sleep, right in front of her.

Astrid glared at Fishlegs, who was blushing. "What? They don't listen to me...how d'you expect them to listen to you? They just...don't want to."

She looked to the sky and muttered a tired question before focusing again on the barely-reduced ice shard that Fishlegs' team had been "working" on for the past hour. Fishlegs was smart, quiet, and very nice and polite. He was really good at the things he did-unfortunately, making tired vikings do something they didn't want to required extreme charisma or extreme force, neither of which Fishlegs had in abundance. She shifted her glare pointedly to the boy, who looked nervous. He must have seen some gleam of danger in Astrid's eyes, for he gulped.

"Well...it's you're shift now! I'm gotta go...I'd love to stay and help out, but I skipped second breakfast, and..._yeah_, I'm just gonna..." He started turning around, but Astrid grabbed his arm with a scary grin.

"Break is over, Fishlegs! Get back to work!" He gasped as he understood her meaning.

"Astrid! You wouldn't!"

"Wouldn't I?" She challenged. "And anyway, consider this your repayment for not working right before!"

Fishlegs opened his mouth, then closed it again with a sigh. "Yeah. You're right. I'll get to work." He walked towards the ice shard.

Astrid suddenly felt a surge of affection for the boy. He was certainly exhausted and hungry-but he had accepted her word without a complaint, even considering the other vikings were asleep. Speaking of which...

"Did the rest of you not hear me_?_ ON YOUR FEET! NOW!" Nothing happened.

Astrid gave a secret smile as she played her trump card. "Don't make me call Eret!"

There was huge uproar, and suddenly every viking was on his feet and racing to the ice, sliding over each other in desperation. Astrid watched them for a few minutes, with a huge grin on her face. Eret was the magic word-after he had been seen fighting off 3 villagers at once over is outsider status, he had been accepted as a very scary and competent fighter. She knew that she could probably do the same-Eret had commented himself-but she had no desire for picking a fight that could be avoided.

She looked up at the sky, half-expecting a small iridescent-green silhouette to be flying erratically overhead. Eret was still getting the hang of his saddle, but it had to be admitted he _was_ an excellent fighter with that sword of his. Whenever they practice sparred, the usual result was a stalemate, with a few lucky wins or sad losses mixed in. The record was currently 8-7 to Eret, so she was looking forward to getting back on level ground. She turned her head back to the ice shard, and her dragon, who was joining in.

Stormfly blasted the ice with a magnesium stream, then cocked her head and sniffed. She looked back at her rider and squawked urgently.

"What's wrong, girl?" Astrid was by her side instantly.

Stormfly responded by suddenly grabbing Astrid by her collar and dropping her on her saddle, then immediately taking off.

"WHOOOAA Stormfly! Girl, what's wrong?"

Stormfly squawked impatiently and flew faster, straight to the other side of the village…

* * *

Snotlout woke to the smell of smoke.

Normally, nothing could wake Snotlout if he was sleeping, but this smoke smelled very distinct: a mixture of kerosene and burnt wood. He knew this was bad. _Really _bad_._

"AHHHH!" He rolled out of bed, and immediately took off running to his dragon's stable.

'By the time he got there, half of Hookfang's hut was in flames. The rafters were collapsing, and as Snotlout watched, his dragon's hut caved on itself, completely flattening anything inside.

He should have been extremely worried for his dragon—except for the fact that Hookfang was already outside, looking at his destroyed stable with distaste.

"Oh COME ON Hookfang! I've rebuilt this thing 12 times! What is it that you hate about it?"

Hookfang snorted and walked over to the back of the rubble. Snotlout sighed and followed.

But before he could get there, he heard a roar, two terrified screams, and two loud thumps and a moan, as if two people had been picked up by their heads and thrown against a wall. Snotlout knew this exact sound because he had heard it so many times before.

"Hey!—OW OW OW!"

Snotlout wasn't exactly helpless when presented with beating up people, especially these particular identical, annoying, irritating, aggravating, (insert adjective here) pair. However, even he had to admit that what Hookfang had done to Ruffnut and Tuffnut was much worse (or much cooler, depending on your viewpoint) than anything he could have done himself. Hookfang was lying down near them, looking very pleased with himself. Snotlout was about to go congratulate him when a thought crossed his head.

"What are—_were—_you two muttonheads doing behind Hookfang's hut?"

"Well, it's not really a _hut_ anymore, as you can see_…_"

"RUFFNUT!"

"Okay fine! We were just back here, minding our own business—

Tuff chimed in. "—you know: trying to see how much Zippleback gas we could inhale without throwing up—

"—when _someone (_Ruff looked very pointedly at Hookfang) decided it was a good idea to light up all our gas _while_ we were inhaling it."

Snotlout laughed. "Yeah actually I think that was a good idea too."

Tuff gave him a pointed glare. "Well, my fine fellow, we were using some more of said gas to accomplish our little mission here—"

"—Yeah! It's our game with big Hooky now: we bring the gas, Hookfang lights it up, accidentally (she put this word in very dramatic quotes) burning down his master's amazing dragon stable."

Snotlout took a while to process this. "And…um…just out of curiosity…how long has this 'game' been going on?"

Tuff should have noticed the quiet tone in Snotlout's voice, and just left well enough alone, but he was too excited for a question he could actually answer without someone's help.

"Oh yeah, easy! We've been keeping track actually—this is lucky numero 13. Oh yeah, we've been rocking it with our _hombre_ here, _luckya numbrero thirteeno..._" Tuff kept on babbling with incredible multi-lingual skill, so he didn't notice that Snotlout was walking away. His sister did, however.

"HEY! SNOTLOUT! Aren't you gonna get us out of here? You can't just leave us like this!"

Part of Snotlout knew they were right—Hookfang had literally tied their (apparently) amazingly flexible limbs to each other: His arms to her legs, and vice versa. He had then hung them from a protruding beam of wood, suspended over the raging fire of his ruined hut.

It was a very small part of him, unfortunately, and he just chuckled and started walking away again.

Suddenly, several Nadder spines shot out of the air with incredible accuracy, whacking his helmet one after another. Snotlout wobbled on his heels, then crashed backwards, out cold from the concussive attack.

His last vision was of a smiling, blue-clad female with an axe blade bigger than his head. A Deadly Nadder stood behind her, looking very pleased with herself.

"Darn you, Astriiiiddd…" He mumbled before passing out. Astrid's smile grew even wider.

"_Gotcha._"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! Rewrite added more thoughts and Eret has his first mentioning! I had actually forgotten about him until now. And yes-that brawl over being an outsider? That's from "The Serpent's Heir." Read it! It's good. And yes, I'm gonna add Eret in a little-but he _won't_ accompany them on the Journey. Sorry! Oh well-hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Troubled

**Troubled**

* * *

Fishlegs, Meatlug, and the rest of the ice-cleaning shift watched anxiously as Stormfly carried a protesting Astrid off into the sky. They waited on pins and needles for a whole two minutes as she disappeared.

And then they dropped like tenpins, some snoring before they hit the ground.

Fishlegs had the uncomfortable feeling of being that one last domino that _didn'_t fall when you made a chain of them. Him and Meatlug of course, who was looking out among the collapsed vikings with a degree of vague concern. Fishlegs sighed, realizing that he would probably be concerned too, if he didn't know that vikings were terminally lazy. He sighed again as he hit the ice with his pick again. A few scrapings landed on the ground on his feet. If Fishlegs wasn't having to actually work on it, he would find the ice fascinating-the compound from the Bewilderbeast seemed to make ice with an unnatural color and hardness, and it didn't melt easily. He was lucky, he thought wryly, striking the ice again. Meatlug shot lava, which stayed on the ice after being shot, melting a considerably larger amount than even Toothless or Stormfly. And, after the lava cooled, it formed a chunk of heavy rock that imbalanced the ice, making it easier to knock off more.

He turned around, looking for his dragon. She was supposed to be helping...there she was! What was she looking at?

Hold on. Isn't that a...?

And that was the last thought Fishlegs had before the whirlwind of claws and wings shrieked, and launched itself at his astonished face.

* * *

The original Berk Dragon Training Academy hadn't been used for almost 5 years. It was, for that reason, a bit dusty, and the old dragon pens and weapons racks damp, moldy, and bare. Usually, if one passed it on the way to the town, he would smile sadly, maybe salute in a nostalgic sort of way, but flip up the collar of his cloak and hurry on his way. It was in the center of the town, overlooking everything. Many in the village wondered why it was even there, the dark grey building in the center of hundreds of colorful ones.

To the original Dragon Riders, however, it was beautiful.

Hundreds of dragons had been researched, taught and trained (mostly) within those walls, and it was the only place where the perpetually busy riders could sit, relax, and spend time with their dearest friend—their mount.

Also, it was pretty helpful to discuss things, like the rather disturbed Night Terror on Fishlegs' face with a sheet of paper tied to its leg.

Fishlegs had managed to get the letter off, but not without many unnecessary scratches and gouges on his hand. The dragon just wouldn't sit still-eyes wide, wings moving frantically, and claws painfully clenching with every step he took. It had stayed on Fishlegs head, perched like some bizarre bird, while Meatlug flew to the academy, and he was still going strong as Fishlegs winced and tried to stay as still as possible, waiting for the riders to arrive.

Meatlug, at his signal, had called a meeting of all the Dragon Riders (except Eret, who was still training with Skullcrusher) to the arena. She had fired several lava blasts into the air, making a dazzling display in the pattern of circle. This was a signal had come up with during the Berserker war—usually reserved for emergencies, but hey: if you were the one with the half-crazed dragon on your head, your perspective on what qualified as an emergency might change just a bit.

Astrid got to the academy first. She was flushed red, and holding a bundle by the foot that looked suspiciously like…Snotlout?

"What? He was slacking. Stormy sniffed him out."

A flame-red Monstrous Nightmare flew in behind her. He growled at Snotlout before walking to one corner and going to sleep.

The twins ran in next, pursued by several boars. They had a boar pit in the back of their hut, and they often let them out to run wild. Apparently, the boars were having one of their rather common rebellions. Fishlegs was a bit worried—until one of the boars stepped on Hookfang's outstretched wing. He exhaled violently, and stood up. Monstrous Nightmares are some of the most intimidating dragon's in the Archipelago. They have an over 50 foot wingspan, and their roar sounds like a demon from Valhalla. It also doesn't hurt that they can set themselves on fire. The boars cleared the area in record time.

Hiccup arrived last. He looked bleary-eyed, like he had been crying, but he gave a small smile in Astrid's direction. Astrid returned the look, and went to stand next to him. Toothless fired a plasma blast on the ground to get the attention of the twins and the still barely-conscious Snotlout.

Hiccup cleared his throat. "So, Fishlegs, what's the emergency..." He trailed off as he gave Fishlegs a second glance and noticed that 1) he was covered in angry-red scratches, 2) there was a dragon on his head and 3) he had a note in his alarmingly cut-up hand.

"You know what? Don't answer that."

Meanwhile, the twins were busy eyeing the husky boy closely.

"Alright Fishy, out with it!" Tuff exclaimed suddenly.

"Out with what?"

"Uh, out with 'what's Peggy doing on your head?'" Ruffnut chimed. "Duh."

"Who's Peggy?"

Hiccup, Astrid, and Snotlout face-palmed.

"You know what Fishlegs, how about you just tell us what that dragon's doing on your head." Astrid said, exasperated.

"It had a message with it, and that's why I'm worried-"

"You're not worried that your face looks like Snotlout the last time Hookfang dropped him off a seastack?" Tuff broke in.

"Ugh. Yes, it hurts, but this is more important. We never trained Night Terrors as message carriers! All we did was to train them as sentries-and the twins taught them fetch. Matter of fact...Night Terrors are only found on the Edge! We haven't seen one since we left! And they are extremely territorial. We never would have even been _able_ to carry messages with them. So, where I'm going is...why did this little guy_ *wince*_ fly all the way here_ *wince*_ for a message _*wince* _and_ will you stop doing that?"_ He tried to grab at the disturbed dragon, but he shied away, and only gripped harder.

After a couple of minutes, with many unnecessary scratches and nips from the hyperactive dragon, Hiccup managed to wrestle the letter from Fishlegs welt-covered hand.

He was calm, but it was underlined by a frisson of concern. The Edge was almost a full day's flight away, even for the Rider's dragons, which were decently fast. What could have scared this dragon-and it looked _very_ frightened-into flying that far for a message? And who would write such a thing? He unrolled the note, and he frowned. He recognized Old Norse, the language used over 4 generations ago. He gazed down at the yellowed parchment, and his eyes widened. His lips traced silent words as his gaze traveled down the torn page. What? This was...

Astrid noticed Hiccup's troubled look, and immediately dropped Snotlout on the floor, making a loud clang as his helmet collided with the hard ground. "What is it Hiccup?" She asked, concerned.

Hiccup started, pulled from his thoughts. He looked at everyone in the academy in turn.

"It's a call for help."

He unrolled the page on the ground.

_Locked in battle, Day and Night—_

_Burning scales and Freezing sight._

_Shadows rule the barren ground, _

_While beams of light prowl all around._

_Shining soul and blackened heart, _

_Deathly claws tear life apart..._

_One, alone, in too deep;_

_Trying to run from eternal sleep._

_Nowhere to hide, nowhere to flee,_

_Where these two monsters cannot find me…_

_Yet I stay trapped, bound by my will, _

_Searching for a lifetime, but searching still._

_Fly far, fly fast, to set me free- _

_Find me not by sight, but by melody._

_So hasten, quickly, with all your power:_

_And save my world from the Twilight Hour._

* * *

**A/N: Rewrite added some thoughts and better cohesion. Hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Discovery

**Discovery**

* * *

Silence. Cold, opaque silence.

"This is outrageous!"

And the dam broke. Hundreds of vikings screaming, shouting, clamoring their dissent at the young chief before them, who was clutching a small sheet of paper. You couldn't blame them really; half their entire village had just been destroyed by a psychotic madman-a psychotic outsider madman-so why on hel would they agree to help rescue someone they had absolutely no information about? Not even directions, an island, anything. The young man held up his hands, and said a few quiet words, then walked briskly out of the hall. A slim blonde followed quickly, with a husky guy right behind her, with a stocky man in red and two matching figures in dreadlocks keeping pace more leisurely.

For the second time in two days, the Riders found themselves in the arena.  
"We can't just stay here, now that we know! Whoever's out there, he could be in serious—"  
"How d'you know it's a he?"  
"Not helping, Ruff."  
"Just sayin'"  
Astrid piped up. "I hate to agree with the twins on this, Hiccup, but couldn't this just be a joke? I could totally see Tuff putting us up to this…"  
"Ex-_cuse_ me Missy! I resent that implication."  
"You know it's true."  
"Can you read minds? How do you know what I'm thinking? Hmm? Hmm?"  
"But you just said…_uhh_. Never mind. Point is, Hiccup, there wasn't even a set of directions. How could they expect us to find them? Smells fishy to me."  
Fishlegs cut in. "Actually, Astrid, I have to side with the chief on this one. That terror was really scared." He held up his heavily bandaged arm. "They're normally pretty docile. Something must have happened to make it act like that."  
"_She._ Not it."  
"Again, not helping, Ruff."  
"Just sayin'."  
"WE KNOW!"

Hiccup sighed. "The people are really against it. So are you three. Fish and I are for the rescue…Snotlout, that leaves you. You've been oddly quiet; have you even been listening?"  
"Beauty rest, cuz! Don't neglect it. Anyway, I'm with you and Fishface. I think a girl would love to get rescued by a handsome man like me."  
"How d'you know—"  
"We get it, Ruff."  
"Just sa—"  
"_Anyway,_ that means we're at an impasse. 3 versus 3. One of the downsides of 6 dragon riders, I guess."  
"Um, Hiccup, if there are 6 dragon riders…"  
"Uh-huh?"  
"…what's Eret doing up there?"  
Hiccup looked up, then all of the riders except the twins face-palmed. Of course! Eret! He was never taught the emergency signal, and he wasn't in the great hall. He was still training in flying.

Soon, Eret was getting some emergency practice at landing.

* * *

"Well, Chief, I'm inclined to agree with you."

Astrid opened her mouth to protest, but Eret held up his hand. "Yes, Miss, you've made your point well, and I can definitely see those two—" he gestured to the twins, who gave him cheeky smiles. "—doing something like this. However, look at things my way. I am an outsider, after all: imagine if I had sent a call for help; to try to get away from Drago. Imagine how I would have felt if no one came to respond. Maybe I would have thought differently a month ago, but now I know that even if there is the chance of no one receiving it, help given is never wasted."

Hiccup smiled and clapped Eret on the shoulder. "Well put, Eret. But you're not an outsider—you're one of us now."  
The rest of the Riders smiled, and Eret gave a slight bow. "Thanks, Chief." Then a grin split his face and he turned around. "Come on, you ugly beast! Let's show them how a real man flies!"

Skullcrusher roared his agreement, and the Riders laughed together before taking off after the former-trapper on a race around the island.

Hiccup was already planning the rescue in his mind. All they needed to do was examine the note—there must be some way they could find directions. He smiled internally, before speeding up after the others.

**HICCUP**

I slumped back down on my bed, exhausted.

The gang and I had cased the letter for hours, but there wasn't anything we had found—no clues, no handwriting we knew, not even a crest. Why did whoever it was have to make it so complicated? Aggghh. Why couldn't he have written a clue? Or something that we could use to rescue…whoever it is! We don't even have a name to go on. If his rescue was so important, why make it in code?

I even thought that maybe the twins couldn't read it. _The twins…  
_My thoughts turned to the Zippleback riders, and a scene suddenly flashed in my head, almost 3 days old but still fresh…

_I pass my worried eyes over the note, my lips ghosting over the letters, as I deciphered the old text. Astrid by my side in an instant, her eyes full of concern… _  
_Me turning over the letter to the astonished face of Fishlegs, the bleary stare of Snotlout, the mystified expression of Ruffnut, and…_

Tuff's eyes had widened considerably—not the old staring-contest, chicken-watching, looking-out-for-Snotlout-so-he-won't-kill-us wide eyes: for a second, just for a tiny second, he looked serious; even scared. His hand seemed to be involuntarily drawn to the back of his neck. His other hand clenched in a fist…  
The image dissolved as I sat up suddenly. Maybe this was the clue I was looking for. I walked over to my table with the note, and I suddenly had a huge sense that this had happened all before.

"Hey bud, can you give me a soft flame?"  
He looked at me questioningly.  
"Please?"  
Toothless gave what seemed to be the equivalent to a dragon sigh, and got up. He yawned, showing the purple glow in his throat.  
Slowly, lines started appeared on the page, twisting and turning like a spider web. The hidden ink glowed purple in the heat of the plasma.  
I grinned.  
"C'mon bud, we're going for a ride!"

**TUFFNUT**  
I seriously hated my sister right now.  
I could hear her snores from all the way across our hut.  
_Our_. Even the word sounded horrid. It gives me acid reflux just thinking about it. Or maybe that's just Ruff's cooking. Who can tell? Basically the same.

I turn around, trying to find a cool spot on my bed. I know Hiccup noticed when I read the note—he's seriously too smart for his own good. Just like me.  
My back twinged. I involuntarily groaned.

Yeah, Ruffnut doesn't even know what _ours_ means.  
Why do I have to be smarter than her? Why can't I just be better at mindless violence? Especially the mindless part. Why can't I just forget? forget. _forget…_

I felt myself slipping away.

_A brand new hut. The mother was away, picking berries for that amazing pie she always made on birthdays. A tall blonde man, the father, was in the garden, teaching two little identical blondes how to mace a dummy when it had its back turned. They were all smiling at the show of good purposeless violence. _  
_Suddenly, the tall man arched his back, and cried out in pain. He sank to his knees. _  
_One hadn't heard; she was still hitting the fallen dummy. The other gasped and ran to his father. But before he could reach him, he had stopped moving. The child fell down beside him, crying out in shock. He didn't understand—dummies couldn't mace you in the back, it was the other way around. That's what the man in front of him, his father, had always said._  
_Almost instantly, the man suddenly sat bolt upright. The child scrambled back, now crying in fear. Maybe it was the cold atmosphere, or the dead, cold glare he gave him—but somehow, someway, the child knew that this man was no longer his father…_  
_The man—thing—grabbed him roughly, and spoke in a low, gravelly voice, nothing like his father's high chirp. _  
_"REMEMBER, BOY. REMEMBER THE KEEPER'S VOW."_  
_He was so entranced by the hypnotic tone of the voice that he didn't realize that the man was tracing symbols on his back, over and over. When the man had finished, he lay back down as suddenly as he had stood up. He slowly opened his eyes._  
_The child cried out in relief. The grey dullness was gone, replaced by the usual brown—but there was something missing. They lacked their customary glow; no twinkle or brightness was left, as if the man had given up part of him when he had gone suddenly crazy. Well, more crazy than usual, for a Thorston._  
_He shakily stood up. Not even meeting the curious gaze of the boy, he walked over to the girl, now sitting on the dummy's back and whacking its head repeatedly. He talked to her in a low voice, than walked back into the hut, limping, as if he was dragging something heavy, arms behind him. He still had that broken feel about his gait—as if whatever he had done to the child had taken the life out of him. _  
_The girl sighed, and walked towards her brother, pouting, with her mace dragging on the floor. "Daddy says no more violence." She whined. _  
_Her brother just looked at her incredulously. She had missed the whole thing._  
_The girl walked inside. The boy could only stare at her small retreating figure. _  
_His back suddenly caved, and he was wracked with pain. _  
_He was falling…falling…falling…_

I screamed, louder than I've ever screamed before…

I woke up to the concerned face of Hiccup, with Toothless right behind him. I realized I was drenched with sweat, and I sighed when I heard their words.

"Tuff—we need to talk."

* * *

**A/N: Rewrite added the 'Great Hall dissent,' 'Just sayin',' and 'Poetic Eret' scenes, with a few details here and there. Huge rewrite! Hope you enjoyed.**


	7. Explanations

**Explanations**

* * *

**HICCUP**

I keep my gaze locked on Tuffnut as he tells his tale, looking for any sign of a joke. Surprisingly, I didn't find any. I jolt back into the present as he pauses.

He sighs, then continues.

"After Ruff went inside, I stayed there, waiting for Dad to come out. He never did. I waited for 5 hours straight, until I finally had to come inside. I lay awake all night, just thinking. I was afraid that Dad would always be…" He stopped, seemingly thinking.

"Listless?" I supplied.

He nodded slowly. "I guess…he was so…_dead_, but he was alive at the same time. It wasn't the same as before. I know that makes no sense but…you probably think I'm crazy."

I almost laughed at that. I _knew_ Tuff was crazy. I was about to crack the joke, but I noticed his forlorn expression. I shook my head slowly.

"No, Tuff, I don't think you're crazy. I believe you."

He sighed again.

"I'm not finished. The day after, Dad was back to normal, cheerful, cracking jokes. I was confused, but I was happy at the same time. Maybe it would all go back to normal. Maybe it was all just a prank. But, when I asked him about it, he just shook his head and frowned, and said, 'I don't know what you're talking about."

"I thought maybe it was a part of my imagination...and for a week nothing happened. I was lulled into a sense of security, I guess...'cause it was the next day when it started. A Nightmare must have flown over our house and flamed up, and some of the gel dripped down or something...

"It was the middle of the night. I was stealing food, don't ask me why, when the fire started. It wasn't big, but it was hot—very hot. I could feel it next to me, and that's how I noticed it. I looked over, and wasn't too worried. Just a little fire—no big deal, right?"

Tuff looked down in shame.

"The buckets were kept by the window, so they would stay cold. I turned around to grab one. I felt the heat on my back…and then the burning started."

Tuff rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly unconsciously, as if fingering a long ago injury.

"I fell to the ground. I couldn't walk, I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. It felt like a bonfire on my skin."

He winced. "That's the last thing I remember from that night. Ruffnut was freaking out. Dad thought I had taken a beam to the head. Mom was just mad. The whole house burned down that night, and while I could have stopped it, I was _sleeping._ She made both of us move out. Dad build us a new house on the other side of the island, and that's where we've lived ever since.

"I soon learned that whenever I was exposed to extreme heat, my back burned. Ruff caught me once, but she just tried to trick me into thinking I have a tail. I pretended to go along with it, just for fun."

I remembered when Tuff thought he had a tail, way before dad...a long time ago, when the Berk Academy was still being used. I thought he was actually that stupid. Now, a new side of him was being revealed—broken, sad, and serious. I knew which side I like better: this was starting to creep me out.

He wasn't finished. It seemed like he was telling me everything that had happened since then—why he chose a Zippleback instead of another dragon (only sparks) and why he stays away from Terrible Terrors, which have some of the hottest flames. My mind thought back to all the times he had shied away from the volcano back at the Edge, how happy he was to leave. Now it all made sense.

I snapped back into reality for the second time, but Tuff continued talking, oblivious to all else but his story.

"After a while, the pain got better. I could deal with it better-instead of my whole back, now it happened on specific places-I could never figure out why. Then, I remembered."

"You're saying your Dad drew on those places?"

Tuff nodded quickly. "Yes. Dad drew something on my back when he went crazy. I had to know what it was. So, one day I held a torch to my back while looking at my reflection on Macey—and symbols appears, burning yellow in the light. It hurt horribly—but I needed to know. It looked like a language of some sort, but not one I knew. I remembered a symbol, and drew it later. I asked Dad about it, since he was the one who drew it, and he told me it was a language from far away, used by strange people with giant ships and catapults that could destroy 20 dragons. Latin; that's what he called it. He asked me where I saw it, and I told him in an old page of the book of dragons. I couldn't tell him the _real_ reason."

I frowned as I digested this. "But Tuff, you haven't read the book of dragons." He gave me a look, and understanding flooded. "Oh. Yeah. I get it."

He drew breath to keep speaking, but I suddenly remembered why I came to Ruff and Tuff's house—I wanted to tell them about the note!

I brought it out quickly, and Toothless to flamed up. The lines appeared on the page again: but now, under the continuous light, I could tell they formed symbols. Symbols from a language neither of us knew. Symbols of..._Latin_.

He looked at me with haunted eyes, full of emotion, not saying a word.

Then he smiled, for the first time that night.


	8. Storm Warning

**Storm Warning**

* * *

It is the biggest storm in over a hundred years.

Waves crash and roll, reaching well over the tallest trees and hills on the small island below. Thunder and lightning crash down, splitting trees and cracking stone. Freezing rain and sleet buffet the ground from above, while tremors rock the land from within. A unearthly, keening wail echoes around, the sound of war, pain, trauma, anger. It seems to come from everywhere at once, setting teeth on edge and making eyes open wide in fear, trying to see where the horrible predator lurks, trying to see where to run. This is not a place to see, hear, notice. This is hell on Earth, the result of centuries of battle and anguish. No one could live here.

Well...

A small figure can be seen on the rocks, peering out onto the ocean. The silhouette is odd—it walks on 2 legs, but it has claws, and…wings?

A different sound can now be heard-

The figure starts and suddenly turns around. It runs—no, _glides_ down the slope. There couldn't be anyone who could move quicker than this wraith, as he makes his way silently down the ice ridden rocks. A normal man would have fallen twenty times by now, but the figure moves easily, ghosting over the ice patches and cracks in the earth like they aren't even there.

It stops suddenly and cocks its head to listen. Now it has stopped, there seems to be a strange sensation-a low pitched_ huummmmm _that rumbles through the ground as much as it travels through the air. The sound warbles and undulates, crackling with intensity. The pitch is always changing-its impossible to tell what it is. However, one thing is for certain: it is steadily growing higher-and louder. The figure starts sprinting up the rock pile he has just reached.

With his speed, he quickly reaches a small cave, high on the rocks. It is the only thing higher than the monster waves outside. It seems to be in between the atmosphere and the ground; with the storm and the tremors, it seems like the Earth and the Sky are battling for control, causing the horrible noise and disasters.

This is actually closer to the truth than seems possible.

The figure looks quite small, now that he is silhouetted against the faint flickering light emerging from the cave. Without it, the cave would be lost among the uniform grey of the storm, completely invisible.

He doesn't pause for breath when he sees the cave. The sound seems to have reached a fever pitch. The light is extinguished quickly as soon as he enters.

The hum impossibly grows louder and louder and higher until...

A explosion of crimson rocks the ground.

The noise is unbelievable-like the entire power behind the hum for the past half hour was released in a millisecond. The shock-wave from the blast expands to cover half the island. Even the tremors stop to listen, and the wind seems to quail in fear in the wake of the horrible blast. Wispy steam and vapor clears, and the once-solid rock pile in below the cave is now just several feet of shifting dust, already disintegrating in the wind. The cave teeters on thin air...

Then, with an almighty crash, the crude shelter falls, and lands (thankfully right-side up) on the dusty ground below. There is no movement from inside.

The remaining stone on the outskirts of the blast glows and flickers impossibly with an eerie red flame, and, just visible in the sky above the thunderclouds, a dark shape swoops into the trees...

* * *

**A/N: OK, this has gotta be a record-a rewrite that actually made the chapter _shorter._ Honestly, I like it the way it is: it conveys the horrors of the Island pretty well. Woohoo! I'm so excited for the next one! Hope you enjoyed!**


	9. Journey: Part I

**Journey: Part I**

* * *

**HICCUP**

"All right gang, let's relax for a bit."

I hear sighs of relief from Snotlout and Fishlegs. I hear Stormfly's wings beside me level off. We had been flying for the past couple of hours in tight formation, heading due South. I wanted to put some distance between us and Berk—and all those who didn't think I should "go gallivanting off on some half-baked quest the month I become chief," to quote Spitelout. I looked back at the others.

Snotlout was falling asleep in the saddle. Typical. Fishlegs was checking our map. Also typical.

It's been three days after my talk with Tuffnut. We awoke the dragon riders that same night, and showed them the hidden ink. I also remembered what the page reminded me of—the Dragon Eye. This made me nervous—I didn't want to confront the Dragon Flyers or the Hunters again, especially without a base of operations.

Tuff made me promise not to tell anyone what he had told me. He didn't want everyone to worry or care because, in his words, "they're too intelligent. They'll start worrying. Except for Snotlout. He isn't intelligent. He'd just laugh. I don't want that either." I had no idea where he got that from, but I let it pass. From what Tuff's told me, he deserves a bit of a break.

Since this was an official rescue mission, every person had a part to play. The twins were the destructors—the people who would mindlessly blow something up if I told them too. Or even if I didn't. This thought had cheered Tuffnut considerably. Fishlegs, as expected, was in charge of the map we drew based on the symbols on the page. They translated roughly to one word-"southward" which we took to mean "go south." Fishlegs alone could actually translate Latin—he read about it somewhere in the books on the Reaper. We still don't know what the symbols on Tuff's back say, because we haven't told Fishlegs about them yet: and like I said, he's the only one who could read Latin. I told Snotlout he was the attention-grabber: the most fabulous and muscled person in the group, and he would make all the enemy look his way in awe. He's really just called a diversion, but I wanted to make him feel good about it. Until he found out, of course. Astrid is the battle-planner. She's responsible for organizing the rest of the riders into formation and kicking people's asses. She excels at that. Probably because she really enjoys it. At least, I thought I enjoyed it. We had a bit of a fight when I told her—she wanted to help me rescue the author of the note. This was one time I actually put my foot down. I told her there was no way I would need anyone else to rescue the poor soul. Did she really think I was that incompetent? I pretended to be angry, because I hoped that would make her drop it. She looked kind of hurt, and just walked out. I saw her organizing the other riders though, so hopefully she agrees.

In reality, I just really, really don't want to lose anyone. I know I will have the most dangerous job—she will have the other riders as a safety net, while I'm scanning the island alone. My dad always said: "A chief protects his own." I can't let him down. Not just after he dies. _I can't._

I try to think about something else, and screw my eyes tight for a couple of seconds, then open them again. I know: the note!

_The note. _I have to admit, I've got no clue what the author meant by _"Burning scales and Freezing sight" _or even the_ "Twilight hour" _bit. However, everyone agrees it sounds really ominous.

I hear Stormfly's wings getting closer behind me.

"Hiccup? Are you all right?"

* * *

**ASTRID**

I sigh inwardly in relief. Hiccup has kept us in formation for the past 2 and a half hours, and I wasn't sure when he was gonna let us rest. There wasn't any point exhausting ourselves or our dragons when we need to rescue someone. Especially from something that sounds really dangerous, like the note says. And over something so uncertain. I still don't know how he believes this isn't a trap; he was acting sort of weird when he showed us the secret ink, like he was holding something back. I shrug this thought away. There was no way Hiccup would hide anything we needed to know. Hiccup. _Hmm_.

I look over at Hiccup. He's in the exact same position that he's been in the whole ride—back slumped, legs still, head up, turning from side to side every few minutes, then settling back center. I remember what he called it: scanning the horizon, looking for any sudden danger. It made sense, but I didn't like him working this hard. I've already argued with him over the ridiculous jobs he's assigned us. I mean, I understand the twins and Fishlegs, maybe even Snotlout. But having himself as rescuer? The most important job? By himself? I mean come on. I could at least help. He got really mad when I told him that, but I don't think he was actually mad. I think he's just trying to fill his dad's shoes. But I really don't understand why we can't do it as a pair. I don't need to be a battle-master or whatever he calls it. The rest of the riders are already good at fighting as a team—we've been doing it for the past 7 years, and our dragon's just fought off a Bewilderbeast, the alpha species, for gods' sakes! I mean I know Toothless did a lot, 'cause he's the king of dragons now, and Hiccup did a lot too, 'cause he rides him and stuff…but that's besides the point! He needs us. We're a team. I mean, I think…

Hiccup has been really distant for the past month. He hasn't talked a lot, always engrossed in some project or another. I understand he's grieving, but even Valka isn't like this, and she is—was—Stoick's wife. We didn't bring her along, because she would probably try to convince us to stay. I know Hiccup loves her, but it must be hard to gain a lost parent then immediately lose the other one. But this is getting worrying, even for me. Even when we talked last week, I had to get back to Berk really soon, and I could tell that he'd been crying anyway. His eyes gave him away. They were all red and stuff—and he looked really sad. I don't like them that way. I like them their normal emerald, deep and beautiful, the way they accent his impossibly cute brown hair, always tousled like he just got out of bed but still perfect…

GAAAAHHH! Stop thinking about how cute Hiccup is!

It's really irritating. No matter how much I try, I just can't see Hiccup not wanting us anymore. Not wanting me…

I look over at Hiccup. He's sagged down in his saddle, head down. I guess he's taking a break too. He suddenly scrunches up his eyes, like he's in pain. All doubts about him are instantly dispelled from my head. I urge Stormfly a little closer. She squawks in protest, but I still urge her on.

"Hiccup, are you all right?"

He turns his head in surprise, then visibly relaxes when he sees me. He smiles, but I can tell he's exhausted. "Just enjoying the view." He says. He seems to have forgotten about our fight, thank the gods. Whenever we argue, I always feel like I've done something hurtful, no matter how much I think I am right. I never apologized before I got him as a boyfriend; now I've done it at least a dozen times. I don't really mind though—he always makes me feel better. So perfect.

By the gods, I'm doing it again, aren't I?

Hiccup straightens a little and turns in his saddle to look at me. I can feel myself blushing when he smiles again, this one full of laughter. I know I'm grinning like a maniac, but I don't really care. My gaze wanders shyly upward, above his head.

And my heart instantly stops beating.

I'm too paralyzed to say anything, but Hiccup must have noticed my gaze, and he whipped around.

And we both stare, dumbstruck, at the sight of the giant, and I mean _giant_, Whispering Death barely 20 meters away.

The dragon narrows its eyes' and snarls, showing its horrible fangs. That's when I realize—the eyes are _flaming_, great licks of fire reaching out of its sockets and up to its ears. Well, where its ears would be, if it had any.

It hesitates for a moment, as if unsure what to do.

And of course, that's the moment that Snotlout screams.

The eyes widen in surprise, then turn to slits in anger.

It's tail lashes out, and the last thing I remember before the sky turns black is Hiccup's perfect smile.


	10. Journey: Part II

**Journey: Part II**

**Snotlout**

All right, I admit it. I screamed like a girl.

But that dragon was _huge_. And _really scary_. I mean, Whispering Death's are bad enough, but flaming eyes? That's just overkill. Either that, or it's just _really really_ mad. Both suck.

The tail suddenly lashes out, faster than my eyes can follow. I involuntarily flinch as a huge crack breaks the air. I slowly raise my eyelids, just in time to hear Stormfly cry out in pain. I gasp as I see her wing, broken and dangling useless by her side. Her eyelids droop and she starts to fall. Hookfang growls below me, and I realize what I should do. _Stormfly. Broken wing. Need to rescue. Duh. _

"Stupid," I mutter to myself, whacking myself on the helmet for good measure. Hey—wait a sec. That dragon had a rider. A very aggravatingly violent rider. Astrid! Where is she?!

Hookfang is already diving, wings folded, talons outstretched, headed straight for Stormfly. I try pulling up, to try to spot Astrid, but the Whispering Death suddenly snarls and lunges, straight for my head. Sorry Astrid!

"HOOKFANG!"

I could feel Hookfang accelerating below me, swooping below the larger dragon's whipping tail, and making a perfect snatch on Stormfly's left leg. He staggers a bit, but he rights himself and beats his wings harder, taking both—well, all three of us—out of danger.

I look back after we land on a sea stack about 100 meters away. I squint my eyes, trying to find Astrid in the middle of the heated battle. I would never admit it, but I'm a little worried about her.

Stormfly caws feebly, and I turn around. Hookfang walks over, and nuzzles her broken wing gently, trying to ease the pain. Why is he always gentle with other dragons, but hates me? I'll never understand dragons.

* * *

**FISHLEGS**

"OH THOR! OH THOR OH THOR OH THOR!"

I scream as Meatlug slaloms wildly as flaming Death spines slice through the air around us. Oh yeah, the flaming part? It can actually set its spines _and _eyes on fire. It's really fascinating, the way the combustion can be sustained even at high altitudes and—OH THOR! MEATLUG WATCH OUT!

* * *

**HICCUP**

_Oh. Great. Thor._ What is that thing?

My first thought is a Whispering Death. It certainly looks like one. But it's a little different—the head is more triangular, like a snake, and the spines and body are longer. The fangs are angled slightly into the mouth, and those look like venom glands…and of course, the eyes are flaming.

_ **C-R-A-C-K**_

I flinch as a horrible bang fills my ears. I whip around, and a nightmare shows up right before my eyes.

Stormfly's wing is hanging useless, and her eyes are closed. I can tell that she is barely conscious, and she's already beginning to fall. Her rider is…gone?

_ Astrid._

I hear Fishlegs scream off in the distance. As if in slow motion, Hookfang dives and grabs Stormfly, distracting the huge monster in front of me.

My brain fills with sorrow, then rage, then calm again in an instant.

Without even needing to tell him, Toothless starts to tuck his wings in, narrowing his eyes, legs folding, and he dives—faster and faster until he's just a dark blur on the sky.

We have never moved this fast, but I can't enjoy it like I normally would. I can only think about one thing: "_A chief protects his own._"

_Don't worry Astrid. I'm coming for you. I can't lose you too._

* * *

**TUFFNUT**

"WOOHOOO! That thing is AWESOME!"

I haven't felt this happy since I met Chicken! Chicken. Hmmm. I wonder how she's doing. And Chicklet. Haven't seen them in a while…AHAHHH!"

The totally awesome but scary at the same time dragon in front of me shoots a spine at my sister's head.

She dodges, sadly. It would have been pretty cool if it hit.

Ruffnut glares at me, like she could sense my thoughts. She probably can, since we're twins. It happens a lot.

The Whispering Death whips around. Suddenly, I'm less excited. I look around me. Fishlegs is gone. Snotlout is kneeling next to Stormfly with Hookfang. Astrid is…who knows? And Hiccup—I see him. He's flying pretty fast…oh, now he's gone. See what I mean by fast?

My sister blurts it out before I can. "We're on our own! Let's get out of here!"

She starts to turn Barf around, but before I could blink, the dragon lunges, eyes flaming, teeth set in unnatural positions. I could already see a blue glow in the back of it's throat. It covers the 300 meters separating us in…well, in the blink of an eye. Or less.

I keep my eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable. I only wish I knew what Dad meant by the Keeper's Vow…

* * *

Well, the inevitable is sure taking it's time. I don't feel anything—except for my own dragon. I open my eyes warily—then immediately close them again.

Hovering, 3 feet from my face, the Whispering Death's eyes flicker eerily. That blue glow in his throat is gone.

Whispering Death's have no pupils, but I swear this one looks almost…sad? Happy? I need to work on my dragon facial reading.

The dragon snuffles and moves a little closer. Ruffnut and our Zippleback are standing stock-still, too afraid to move.

Without even realizing it, my hand slowly reaches out, and my eyes close. My brain is fighting my own muscles, screaming_ RUNAWAYYOUIDIOTTHATTHINGISFIFTYTIMESYOURSIZE _over and over again, but still my arm extends, drawn to that lonely, sad yet incredibly deadly dragon...

Nothing for a long moment.

Slowly I open my eyes, and my hand touches his forehead. _Oh my Thor…_

"_Sweet…_" is all I can say before I fall back on my saddle in a dead faint.


	11. Journey: Part III

**Journey: Part III**

* * *

The dragon riders were a sorry sight indeed.

Setting off from Berk, they had been a majestic procession, if a bit hurried. Now, their numbers had been decimated by a single dragon, and they had been forced to land on a near-by island to recuperate and heal 2 major injuries. Luckily, the supplies were spread evenly per head, so most of them were still attached to the Zippleback. They had built a makeshift fort with the timber from the convenient forests; a rather sad affair of 5 huts arranged in a ring, with a small stable in the center. A separate hut was located outside the ring; this served as a sick bay. So far, it had two occupants.

Fishlegs had been hit by a tail-spine. It had sunk several inches into his leg, and almost all the way through. Meatlug had panicked when her master passed out, and she flapped frantically to and fro until she ran into a tree. She was knocked out, and with extraordinary luck, Fishlegs was thrown partially clear so that only her heavy tail was resting on his injured leg. The spine broke off and the flame was put out, and the tail acted like a compress, stemming the flow of blood so it slowed to a trickle. Even so, the Riders were extremely lucky to find him as quickly as they did—much longer of a wait, and Fishlegs would have been a goner, either via blood loss or by the poison they found in his blood stream, apparently injected by the tail spine. As it was, Fishlegs was in a coma, feverish to the point of delirium. Ruffnut seemed surprisingly concerned, but it was passed over. No one wanted to face her angry stare whenever asked if she was going to leave, even to eat. Snotlout took to bringing her meals, shying away from flirting at her obvious distress. Hiccup was confident he would recover, but Ruff obviously didn't share his optimism.

Hiccup had, in the end, grabbed Astrid about 100 feet off the ground. Considering they had been flying above the cloud cover, this was quite a close margin. She had escaped with only a couple of scratches, yet her face still showed the shock of the fall. She confined herself to Hiccup's tent, only taking short breaks to visit the sick bay to check on Stormfly. Muffled sobs could sometimes be heard, momentarily accompanied by Hiccup's soft voice, comforting her, leading her back to the tent to rest. ] Stormfly's wing had been broken at 2 joints, and some of the skin was torn. It would take weeks for the skin to grow back, and a month at least for the bone to heal. A splint held it together, but the usually lively dragon could barely move without the wing flapping and pain to come shooting back.

Since these injuries were all caused by a single culprit, it was thoroughly irritating that the said culprit could be found on most days circling lively overhead, eyes blazing, usually accompanied by an equally irritating rider.

Tuffnut had named the dragon Death Ride. It seemed apt, and no one was really in the mood to argue. He was, after all, the one who had trained it, and now it seemed more like a spiny pussycat than anything. None had seen what had happened between dragon and human except Ruffnut, and she hadn't said a word since Fishlegs was found. When asked, Tuff would just say 'we looked at each other, and saw ourselves.' and smile a sad smile. It was probably meant as insightful, but most just found it annoying, because 1) it didn't answer the question, 2) it was kind of copying Hiccup when he first found Toothless, and 3) there was about as much the same between Tuffnut and Death Ride as a chicken to a Hotburple.

* * *

With so much going on, and so many injured, Hiccup had to make the first decision of his stillborn chiefing career. He decided to cancel normal camp duties, and just let the Riders rest. It would have been a wise decision—except for one thing. He forgot that camp included sentry duty: no one was on lookout for danger through the night. If he was older, even by a year or so, he would never have overlooked this detail. But, since Stoick teaching career was, _*ahem*,_ cut short, he wasn't able to tell his son this important detail about camping.

Honestly, Hiccup was pretty preoccupied. But come on: just had a dragon-fight, landing on an unfamiliar island, middle of nowhere—doesn't that just _scream_ danger?

A tired mind leads to mistakes. And, as Hiccup was about to find out, one's tired first decision can easily turn into one's last.

All one has to do is wait for nightfall…


	12. Journey: Part IV

**Journey Part IV**

* * *

**SNOTLOUT**

It's been 2 weeks.

2 weeks since the freak dragon attack that almost killed Astrid.

2 weeks since Fishlegs was found.

2 weeks since Stormfly's wing was broken.

2 weeks since since Ruffnut has smiled.

Heck, 2 weeks since _anyone_ has smiled.

Except Tuffnut. _He's_ been having the time of his life. It's profoundly irritating. Wait—I think that's the word. Viggo taught me that. Never used it before. _Yay._

Anyway, all Tuff and that giant porcupine do is fly around, shooting fire; not even caring that their friends are dying.

Ruff still hasn't spoken to me. She acts mad, but I know she's just really worried. She seems to care for Fishlegs a great deal. That's also profoundly irritating.

I know I _like_ Ruffnut. She's cute, explosive, and single. What's not to like?

But, whenever I think of her, someone else pops into my head. It makes it impossible to enjoy anything fully, because I always want her to be with me. Nothing seems complete without her there.

This is kinda a secret from everyone. They all think I _love_ Ruffnut, or Heather, or even Astrid. But my mind keeps flying back to a brown-haired, flying girl with a tiny Razorwhip.

_'I'll never admit it within 100 miles of that island'_ I think to myself, _'but I miss you, Minden.'_

* * *

**FISHLEGS**

Blackness. Suffocating blackness. And the pain, _oh the pain…_

I can't move. I can't blink. I can't hear. I can't think. _The pain…_

The pain disappears. I feel my body lifting up, and I peer down into the hazy darkness. Swirls of color dance across, suddenly, like hundreds of multi-colored dragons, flying across the ocean. Flying across the ocean…that sounds familiar. Something is inside my head, moving around, jostling the beautiful picture. I try to reach out, grab it, focus on it, but it leaps away. _What was it?_

I start running, but I can tell that it's not working. The thing is getting farther and farther away. The ocean looms behind me, no longer inviting, just cold and black, like a hand reaching out from the sea. The hand moves closer. I try screaming, but no sound comes out. I feel the finger's cold touch…

But then somethings pushes me away.

Not a push, exactly. More like a _shove. _

I'm catapulted upwards, gravity suddenly not working. The hand falls back, writhing and shrieking. I look back, trying to locate the source of the shove, but I only see a pale oval, and it quickly fades. Some inexplicable warmth that I hadn't noticed before suddenly seems to disappear.

That shove was really hard. I'm a lot closer to that something now, and I seem to be speeding up.

_Come on, come on… _echoes across the cavern, sounding distant but near at the same time. I didn't say it. I look around in surprise, but I'm not worried. I can somehow feel that I'm alone in the room, and the one outside doesn't want to hurt me. Outside.

Before, the idea seemed impossible. But now…I know there's a different world out there. A better world, without creepy hands and impossible colors. With someone who wants me to be alright. I reach out, my hands grabbing the thought that had escaped me. It slips and slides, trying to escape, but I hold on gritting my teeth. I _won't_ stay here! _I…will…not…give…IN!_

The ball breaks, and it feels like every single color from the ocean is rushing into my head all at once. It doesn't feel great—but it isn't bad either. Visions, pictures, sounds, memories…

Wait! There's something there…I focus, squinting my eyes, trying to see through the colors…

Oh, by the Gods! Of course!

A sudden sound rips through the cavern. A scream. Instantly, I know the voice is that of the person who saved me. How can I help her? Only one way to find out. I brace myself…

I run straight at the wall in front of me. I'm not even touching the ground as I speed towards the solid rock face.

The wall suddenly turns fragile as paper as I plow through it, into the blinding light beyond…

**_Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum._** What's that sound?

**_Ba-dum.**_ It's giving me a **_Ba-dum**_ headache.

_'It's my heartbeat.'_ I realize._ 'I'm out!…I'm alive…'_

Oh no! The scream! I've got to help her…

I struggle one last time, leaping over that last rock in my path, the last sword in my way, the last bump in the road, the last pain in my bones...

* * *

Fishlegs' heart started beating again. His chest heaved, and his eyes opened slowly.

If only Ruffnut was there.

_But she wasn't…_

* * *

**TUFFNUT**

What's that?

I sit up from the ground, every nerve suddenly on alert. Death Ride stirs beside me.

Yeah, I'm sleeping on the ground. With Death Ride. Whenever I go into camp to eat, or get some water, everyone keeps staring at me, not in a good way, but a bad, _angry_ way. Like I'm doing something wrong. Like I should be on my knees, praying and cavorting to the great god Thor to save my dearest friends.

Right when I finally get something that's _mine_, not _ours_? No way.

That's why I sleep outside. Away from their eyes. With my two best friends that aren't chickens: Belch and Death Ride. Well, Barf is here too. She isn't a _best_ friend…but it's all right. She's actually okay, considering her rider.

That's not important now though.

I can _sense_ the danger, it's so thick in the air. That's what woke me up. That smell of danger…

Hmmm. Smell…I know I've smelled that before…

I search my brain, trying to find that elusive memory…

Oh yeah! It was on that island we wanted for Garfflvorg, the Death Song. Didn't that island have giant snakes on it? With deadly venom if you even touched them? Bad choice if you ask me. The whole place smelled fishy. Wait. That was it. Fish. The venom smelled like raw fish…

Everything connected at once.

A scream. Fishy smell. That faint sliding sound. The sense of danger. _No sentries…_

_Slitherwings. By the Gods, it had to be those things._

That scream! It was Ruffnut! _By the Gods, it had to be her also_.

"Come on, Death Ride!"

The dragon wakes up instantly, eyes starting to flame. I'm already on his back, and he's already lifting up, spiraling towards the camp...

The idea of no more 'ours' is no longer enticing.


	13. Journey: Part V

**Journey: Part V**

* * *

**TUFFNUT**

Oh no.

The dragon stable in flames. Hookfang getting chased by a Slitherwing. Nadder spines and scorch marks on the ground. And everywhere, the horrible, overwhelming stench of fish.

I begin to hear faint voices and shouts as I urge Death Ride down with my knees. He's surprisingly responsive. I didn't even need to train him, he already knew everything Belch knows. He's really smart.

Another scream rips the air—this one high-pitched and girly. That could only be Snotlout; even the girl dragon riders sound less girly than that. I angle Death Ride towards the scream.

Snotlout is on the roof of his hut, clinging to a board, still whimpering. There isn't a Slitherwing in sight. Typical.

"Wimp." I mutter as I fly away. He had his eyes shut tight, so he didn't see me.

A dozen meters away, I see Astrid stumble out of HIccup's hut holding…an oar? I can't see very well…oh Loki! That is a _giant _snake.

"Come on, Death Ride! We've got to help…"

I didn't get any farther than that before Astrid jumped into action. Swirls, parries, swings, jabs, all while avoiding the Slitherwings poisonous body. The dragon was snarling with rage as it tried to grab her, but it never even got close. Astrid leaped and danced beneath its winding coils like she was on a stage—instead of thousands of miles away from her home and fighting for her life against a giant poisonous serpent. I could tell the Slitherwing was getting angrier and angrier, it's whips and jumps getting faster and faster, eyes ablaze with fury (not like Death Ride blaze, more like metaphorical blaze. You get the picture.)

Finally, it got impatient and lunged straight at her, mouth agape, teeth dripping venom. Astrid didn't even flinch. Before it could stop, she set her feet and drove the oar straight into its jaws. She pivoted with perfect timing in an overhead stroke, hurling the Slitherwing a hundred meters with all the force of its blind charge. It landed with a thundering CRRASSHH on the hard rock. It shakily started to rise again, but it was met with Astrid's death glare and still-smoking oar. It closed its eyes and stayed down. Smart dragon.

Without me realizing it, Death Ride had moved closer, so I could make out everything.

Astrid suddenly turned around and jumped a full meter in the air with a stifled scream. Hmmm. That one was more girly than normal.

"By the Gods, Tuffnut, don't _do _that! And get that pyromaniac excuse for a dragon away from me!"

"Does 'pyromaniac' mean 'awesome?'"

"TUFFNUT!"

A fourth scream interrupts her in what was obviously going to be a stern lecture and probably an angry punch at the end.

That was Ruffnut again! I'd forgotten about her! "Astrid, we have to help her! Come on!"

"NO WAY! You think I'm gonna get up on that thing who almost killed me?! With only _you _keeping it under control?! I don't think so…"

Really, Astrid? Even you aren't going to stop me from helping my sis.

It's like Death Ride is reading my mind. With a perfect motion, his tail comes up behind the still-talking Astrid and wraps around her lifting her up, and he starts spiraling away towards the Sick Bay. I whooped in triumph.

Astrid, who had screeched in alarm as the tail had wrapped around her, now found her voice again as she was thrown around in a circle as the Whispering Death flew in its unique, spiraling, screaming-fast way.

I winced as I heard some of her_ (_**ahem**)_ interesting_ word choices.

_'Great job Tuff,' _I think to myself. '_you've maybe saved your sister, but who's gonna save you?'_

_Wait. Why are the Slitherwings running away?_

* * *

**RUFFNUT**

By. The. Gods. _Why. Won't. He. Wake. UP!_

Fishlegs is dying, I can feel it. And there isn't a thing I can do about it.

It's profoundly irritating. No. It's more than that. It's…_heartbreaking._

It's not that I _like_ him or anything! That would be crazy. It's just…

Okay, yeah. I like him. But only a _little_.

I've been sitting here for weeks, I don't know how many. I try to get up, to ride my dragon, to forget about him, but I just _can't. _Nothing seems the same without his exasperatingly cute self blabbering on and on while everyone pretends to listen.

And anyway, if it stops Snotlout from flirting, heck I'll do it all day.

I put my hand on his chest for what seems like the hundredth time.

But this time…_nothing_. No familiar beat of his heart. No movement under my hand. Oh Thor…

_He's gone… I can't believe it…_

I beat at his chest with my hands, tears streaming down my face without me even noticing. He can't be gone. He_ can't_…

He doesn't move, no matter how hard I hit. My tears turn to a scowl, then back to tears as I realize he isn't coming back. He's gone.

I can feel a smoldering rage inside me growing. How dare he? How dare he die right when Hiccup said it was all right? It's not fair!

I turn around, propelled by my grief, and I punch him one last time, as hard as I can, right in the stomach. That felt good, but bad at the same time. I turn around again, but something tells me to turn back…

Wait a sec… what was that?

He moved! His eyelids flickered! Right when I punched him!

"Come on, come on…" I mutter without realizing it, voicing my thoughts as I peer anxiously at his prone figure.

There it was again! His eyes flickered, definitely!

I start towards him, ready to punch him to life again (which really sounds like fun...)

But before I can move, something wraps around my legs, and pulls me to the ground.


	14. Journey: Part VI

**Journey: Part VI**

* * *

**RUFFNUT**

I screamed way too late.

The thing had already dragged me out of my hut and onto the grass outside, when I finally found my voice. Honestly, it's kinda weird that this is what I'm thinking about right now. _Focus, stupid brain…_

I looked toward my legs. They were wrapped up in something white and spiky, like a snake… it was covering my leggings completely. The spikes had a little red also…they really reminded me of something…

I follow the snakelike thing around and around my legs, then up, then sorta sideways, then up and up and up…and up and up and up…_and up and up and up_…"_AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"_

* * *

**TUFFNUT**

"There!"

I moved Death Ride closer to the Sick Bay. That's where Ruff last was…hmmm…

"Check behind!"

I jerked up. Who said that? Oh wait. I forgot about Astrid. I've kinda been tuning her out. Her threats aren't really interesting after the sixth time. I wave to her, to show I understood.

Wait, what? Death Ride is already moving to the other side of the hut. Wow! He can understand human speech? Really?

No Slitherwings. They've left. That's weird.

Oh wait. That's probably because Ruff is right there…and a…the…_Screaming Death?_

The dragon of my dreams and nightmares…alongside the Lycanwing and Death Song in terms of deadliness and awesomeness…

We are dead. We are so dead.

* * *

**ASTRID**

I can't scream anymore. Looking at this monster, glaring at us with Ruff struggling mutely below…we're goners. We can't fight this size of a monster the way we're injured. I'm really tired after my Slitherwing fight. I can tell; my reactions are just a hair slower, muscles just a tiny bit weaker…that fall took a lot out of me. Maybe...this is the end. The Screaming Death will destroy the island-with us on it.

* * *

**SNOTLOUT**

I can tell there's danger outside. If my eyes are closed, it can't see me. I'm staying put.

* * *

**HICCUP**

What's that noise?

I struggle, trying to shake it off…go back to sleep…

_"HICCUP!" _

I jolt awake…and peer right into the face of Fishlegs.

I'm too stunned to speak. A hundred thousand thoughts cram my head, and not one of them seem right to say right now.

"Hiccup, I know you have some questions, but we need to talk. The Screaming Death outside has got Ruffnut—"

I find my voice. "Screaming Death?"

"YES! SCREAMING DEATH! Anyway, I need you to do this for me…"

* * *

**PERCUTIEN AURORA**

Whitespine. Rapid flame bursts. Cannot outfly. Must protect Aurora and Aurora's friend. Only option: Throw off Aurora and Aurora's friend. Find new rider. Searching for new rider…

Found. Half stade away. Very athletic. Very skilled.

Action started.

* * *

**TUFFNUT**

"AAAAAAH!"  
What's wrong with Death Ride?

* * *

**ASTRID**

"AAAAAAH!"

Stupid dragon.

* * *

**THOR BONECRUSHER**

The Screaming Death shall face his greatest opponent yet! All those who oppose Thor Bonecrusher shall snap like twigs! All I need is a good dragon to ride...

Ha ha! Perfect! The horrible one called Death Ride!

This will be written in the sagas of old: the great Thor Bonecrusher, astride the dragon with eyes of flame!

I can't wait to get started.

* * *

**RUFFNUT**

Wait a sec...is that...Fishlegs?

The tail shifts suddenly, and it is suddenly around my chest. I can feel it tightening...slowly...

The world is blinking on and off, in and out...I can barely breathe...

"Hurry...up...you...mutton...head..." is all I can mutter, before the world turns to black.

* * *

**The JOURNEY shall finally conclude when we return.**


	15. Journey: The Finale

**Journey: Part VII**

* * *

It all seems so…sad, in a way.

The Riders have been through so much, solved so many riddles, saved so many people, and now, with one rider is in a suffocating death trap, one thrown and knocked out, one in a fear-induced coma, one still in a drowsy haze, and one no where near recovered from a horrible fall, it seems all for nothing.

The Screaming Death is truly monstrous now; it seems as if it has never stopped growing. Even now, with its head over 100 meters above the ground, there is still an almost endless coil of tail on the ground, slowly constricting an unconscious rider.

It seems the archipelago has become too small for it, so it had flown away, to this island, where the Riders had disturbed it. Even though they've saved its life and reunited it with its mother many years ago, it still hates them. Either it just doesn't like humans…or it has a disturbingly short memory. Both are bad.

It seems like the end is coming. The dragons are doing their best of course; Toothless blasting the white giant with plasma bolts from the ground, Barf and Belch painting gas lines then lighting them, Meatlug shooting lava at the weakest joints in the dragon's armor-like scales. Hookfang is fighting like the Nightmare of his name, flying the closest, using claws and teeth as well as fire. Every blast the other dragons give, he gives two. Almost like he was fighting for another dragon as well…which he kind of is.

But, it is obvious it won't be enough. Even though the Slitherwings have fled, the Screaming Death seems to be completely unstoppable, and the dragons are used to having a rider to control there plans and be a lookout for danger. One by one, they fall, Meatlug shot by a spine, Barf and Belch choked by winding coils, and finally Hookfang grabbed by the tail and thrown hundreds of meters by a single lunge. Only Toothless still fights, dodging teeth and fire while staying on the ground. But, two things are against him. The Screaming Death was not present when Toothless became the King of Dragons, so he does not have the level of awe and respect the other dragons have towards him. Worst of all, he won't let Hiccup ride him, to help him fly. He tried to protect his friend, and in doing so doomed himself. A sudden fire burst left him unconscious where he stood, out of plasma and exhausted.

And finally, the Scream, _oh the Scream…_it ripped your very soul apart to hear that dragon roar, tore the flesh of your bones, and threatened to puncture your eardrums with every shrieking second.

Even Snotlout got down from his roof and joined the haunted-eyed group standing on the grass, crying and shouting their dragon's names, Astrid just hugging a frantic Hiccup, who was trying to wake Toothless up. The Riders have run out of dragons to protect them…

But wait…I missed one, didn't I? Oh yes—the new one, the one called Death Ride, and the only one with any possible chance of victory, and a size actually slightly comparable to his enemy, only 3 times his size, and not 10. Yay! Positivity!

But he doesn't have a rider either…we're out of those also.

_Or are we?_

_ Thor Bonecrusher. _He is a bit of a prick, but, you gotta admit, he's got style.

But do you really need _3_ somersaults to jump on a dragon?

* * *

**THOR BONECRUSHER**

I know it is disgraceful not to mind your appearance, but I don't care about how I will be portrayed anymore. All I care about is getting that girl out from the vicious embrace of that deathly white demon. And hopefully killing it, and dragging its carcass back to a victorious Berk. And getting a couple of feasts in my honor. And maybe a holiday. But that's for later. Right now, I need to be focused…

Hahaaa! This dragon is truly amazing!

I can see the awe-induced stares of the humans on the ground, and the slight smile of one. He is the leader I know, and I must follow what he says to not make trouble. It is for the good of the dragons and the Riders. He brought me to this place, to save the day, and get fame and glory.

I bring my mount down using my knees. He is very responsive, almost as if he has been trained before. Maybe the one they call Tuffnut?

"Use Death Ride to distract it and get me close! I'll rescue Ruffnut!" I hear.

"Hiccup!" Another voice chimes in. "I'm going with you!"

"No chance, Astrid. It's too dangerous."

"You think I can't fight and win?"

I can see the leader holding another by the shoulders. They are arguing, but it seems the leader is winning. "No Astrid," he says, "It's that you're too important to lose." The girl seems frozen, speechless. He pecks her on the cheek, then jumps behind me. "Take me close."

I spare a glance at the girl, who is now crying silently, still staring at the spot where the leader was a few seconds ago. Then I turn away. I have a job to do.

My dragon is already spiraling towards the white mountain, taller than anything around. It is presently glaring down at its helpless prisoner. It gathers itself, preparing for a quick lunge and snap…

When, quite literally, it gets laid by a single punch.

The dragon screams its agony as Death Ride's lash hits its mouth. A giant fang crashes down on the ground, narrowly missing the prone girl. The coils loosen slightly; though from pain or anger it is hard to tell. The Screaming Death focuses back on us, eyes glaring red, only to have its body cut with a dozen flaming spines, burning through the impenetrable armor like a knife through butter. They were barely like pinpricks to this monster, but Thor, that must of _stung_. I guide Death Ride to the other side, and shoot again. I look behind me, to report to my leader, but he is suddenly gone.

I have a sudden vision of the girl from before, _Astrid_, in my mind, silent tears streaming down her face…

I shake off my moment of weakness, and continue my mission.

* * *

**HICCUP**

I feel horrible, somehow. I know I'm trying to protect Astrid, but why do I have to push her away every time as well? I know what I must do…why am I too weak to do it? My father would have…_my father. _

_ 'I won't let you down, Dad' _ I think, as I silently drop from Death Ride's back, into clear, thin air.

The ground is barely 20 meters away when I open my flight suit and start gliding swiftly towards the end of the tail. I unsheathe Inferno, careful to not let any stray Monstrous Nightmare gel drip on my wings.

I near Ruffnut…50 meters…30 meters…10 meters…closer…closer…now!

I fire up Inferno and drop it on the beast's tail. As I had hoped, the dragon is so big that it has lost most contact with the muscles in its tail tip, so far from its brain. The tail twitches, and Inferno is extinguished, but the mission is accomplished. The tail has moved enough so Ruffnut can breath, but the head hasn't noticed me. Sweet.

The spiny body looms before me, suddenly a lot closer than it looked before.

Now, how do I stop?

Whoops…

* * *

**THOR BONECRUSHER**

This isn't going well.

I frantically dodge another spine shot, and swivel around a flame burst. This dragon just can't be stopped. The Screaming Death is covered in burns and scars, but Death Ride is out of flames, eyes tired and flickering. I have seen my dragon fight like no other—against a different opponent, any opponent, it would be dead twenty times over, and vaporized and covered with spines to boot. But this enemy's strength is infinite, and everything just gets it madder and madder.

I don't know how much longer I can do this.

Almost as soon as I though this, I feel Death Ride flying down towards the ground, then accelerating upward with whiplashing speed. I fall off his back and hit the ground with a considerable thump. _Ouch_.

After I check that nothing is broken I look up. Why did he throw me off?

What I see amazes me.

Death Ride is flying faster than ever, weaving in and out, escaping everything his bigger counterpart throws at him. He moves with the agility of a dragon half his size, always flying farther and farther upward, dodging spines here, twirling around fire there, and suddenly…he was there.

Circling 20 meters above the Screaming Death, my mount starts to _dance._

I have no other word for it. The dragon is circling, leaping, slithering in the air, never staying still.

A flame bolt rockets toward him. Before I can even yell out, it is extinguished. A blue forcefield surrounds the dancing dragon, accelerating outward from the hit, becoming more visible with every second. The energy surrounding Death Ride was literally crackling with intensity, reminding me of something…

That's when I saw the storm clouds gathering above him, and I realized what he was about to do…

I spare a moment to think. _I can't believe this. He's even more powerful than I thought. _

I snap back to reality when thunder rumbles overhead, and I realize something...

...the leader and the girl are in grave danger.

Yikes. That would hurt.

I start running towards the end of the tail, where I can now barely see with all the smoke…and come across two prone bodies instead of just one.

That complicates things.

* * *

**RUFFNUT**

Ouch. OUCH OUCH OUCH. I feel like I'm being ripped to pieces. Cool.

Suddenly, I feel myself getting picked up, and I'm balanced on someone's shoulder. I open my eyes and see Hiccup about 10 feet away. A spike is sticking out from one of his flight suit wings, and he looks unconscious. He's upside-down also. That's not good.

Oh wait. I got picked up upside-down. Makes sense.

I see him getting farther away, and realize my savior is running. I peer around as best I could, into the face of…

"Fishlegs?"

He smiles. "The leader told me you would probably call me that. I am not Fishlegs. My name is Thor Bonecrusher. At your service."

He sets me down, now a considerable distance from the tail. Man, he's fast. And _alive. _A hundred thoughts run through my head, including kissing him and killing him. Tears are already prickling my eyes. _He's okay._ Somehow, I formed a sentence.

"I have no words, Fish—sorry, _Thor_. How are you all right?"

"Apologies, miss," He winked at me. "That's 10 words, actually."

He ran back towards Hiccup.

The tears are suddenly gone.

_That little…_

Oh, never mind.

* * *

**THOR BONECRUSHER**

I look up through the smoke and flames, and I can still see that blue energy, slowly growing brighter, storm clouds gathering, getting bigger and bigger, stronger and stronger…

I grab Hiccup and start running as fast as I can to escape what I know will happen in the next 10 seconds.

I don't see it, but I knew it happened.

The storm that Death Ride summoned was electric—that was the forcefield, so powerful that it could stop almost anything. Death Ride used his deadliest weapon-harnessing Thor's rage itself. It fought wildly, trying to disperse, but the dragon held it firm, moving faster and faster. Now he was just a blur, a huge teal lasso decorated with leaping licks of flame, controlling the frantically bucking storm clouds. The skies tore as the power increased, until it was overflowing, rocketing off, screaming, shrieking, _searching_ for a way to escape.

And it found it.

The Screaming Death, hundreds of meters off the ground, the highest point for miles around.

A blinding surge of light exploded from the clouds, passing harmlessly over and around the forcefield and struck the rage-filled giant on its highest spine.

* * *

The Riders, watching from hundreds of meters away, shielded their burning eyes as the sky lit up with a brilliance outshining the sun, and a shockwave blew them backward by dozens of meters…

However, Ruffnut and Fishlegs were the only ones actually witnessing the horrific crescendo. The dragon was flashing with dozens of lights, scales peeling off and dissolving, teeth crumbling, body slowly vaporizing in the continuous stream of white-hot energy...the Screaming Death let out one more agonizing scream as its eyes slowly went blank…

And suddenly, the dragon was simply not there.

Seconds pass, but the dragon doesn't reappear. This is real, not some sick dream. They've actually won.

"Wow…" Ruffnut turned at the sudden voice. It was that of Fishlegs, not of Thor Bonecrusher. So he must be back. The shock must have undid however the hypnosis happened. Fishlegs looked at her, and smiled a small smile.

She smiled back, and moved closer, until his arm was around her.

They watched the flames extinguish themselves slowly, hand in hand.

There wasn't much to be said, so they sat in companionable silence, remembering the greatness of a fallen foe.

Several minutes later, a sudden snuffling made them both jump apart. They were met with the sight of Hiccup, slowly standing up, shaking himself like a dog shakes off water, and looking confused at the spine sticking out of his flight suit. He pulls it out, and fingers the jagged hole sadly.

He notices their stunned faces.

"What did I miss?"

* * *

_5 days later…_

Fishlegs was excited.

"I knew it! It wasn't just directions!"

"What are you talking about, Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked, confused.

The gang was sprawled about the stable, atmosphere cheerful. Even the air smelled a little less fishy.

Astrid leaned on Hiccup's chest, seemingly recovered from her fall. She hadn't spoken much to anyone, but she smiled sometimes, and that was an improvement in itself. Ruff and Tuff were having a slap fight in the corner. Snotlout was hanging from the ceiling, doing crunches. The dragons were outside, working off some pent up anxiety with good old-fashioned wrestling. Death Ride was amazingly no worse for the wear after his incredible job against the Screaming Death, and he was wrestling with the best of them, spines held safely against his body. The group had mobbed him and started playing, which was surprising considering how he attacked them. He was apparently forgiven due to his fighting skills.. Stormfly's wing was slowly healing, but she still couldn't play rough-and-tumble, so Hookfang quit the game and sat with her. They were carrying on a little conversation, rather sweetly actually.

"I've made a discovery. You know that Latin word we saw on the note?"

"Yeah. 'Southward,' or 'due south.'"

"That's where you're wrong, my friend. It didn't mean direction…it was talking about _islands_. The 'Southward' island, to be specific."

"What's that?" Astrid chimed in.

"Have you guys ever heard of the Island of _Aeternam Crepusculum_?"

"Stupid *huff* name." Snotlout dropped to the floor. "I would have named it something way better…like 'Snot Isle,' or 'Snot Island,' or maybe 'the Isle of Snot!'"

"And that isn't stupid?"

"That sounds like Latin," Hiccup murmured, ignoring Astrid and Snotlout's bickering.

"Yup!" Fishlegs agreed. "It is. After you noticed the secret writing on the note, I've been studying the papers from the Reaper again, and guess what? _All of them are in Latin. _This gives me a theory."

Hiccup nodded for him to continue.

"I think the ship I got the books from was originally Roman. That's why it seemed so strange, even for a Hunter vessel, and all the books are in Latin. The Hunters must have stolen and remodeled it later, but they crashed it, so they left all the strange writings they had no knowledge of."

"That certainly is consistent with the facts Fishlegs...wow! If this is true, then there's a whole civilization out there that we know nothing about."

"That's not even the best part." Fishlegs paused for effect. "_Aeternam Crepusculum _translates to 'Eternal Twilight!'"

Hiccup gasped. "That's what it said in the note! '_The Twilight hour._' Remember?" He turned to Fishlegs. "Can you find it? There must have been some sort of map..."

He trailed off. Fishlegs was already pulling a page out of a book next to him. He held it up proudly. It was…completely blank?

"Um…Fishlegs? What's a blank piece of paper going to do?"

"Oh, it's blank now, but it won't be soon! This will be our map! When I originally saw it, I was confused. It was supposed to be a map, you see-but I completely forgot about your discovery until now. Now, it can become a map, and we can find the author of the note! All we need is some..."

"What?" Hiccup and Snotlout said at the same time.

But Astrid had seen what they hadn't. "How did you say you discovered the secret word on the note again, Hiccup?"

Fishlegs and Astrid grinned at their dumbstruck faces.

"...heat!"

"Death Ride? A little help?" Hiccup called. "We may need a little more firepower from you."

* * *

I hope you have enjoyed the JOURNEY. Now, a new adventure begins…


	16. Author's Confessions II

**Hey everyone!**

**It has been a long time! I've written a lot! YAYAY! Hope you are liking it so far. **  
**That last chapter took sooo long…**  
**2000+ views already! WOW! You guys are amazing!**

**I just wanted to update you guys on my schedule.**

**As you may have noticed, I usually update every week, on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday (like today.)**

**If you don't see an update on those three days, chances are I'm studying for some really important test or am at a tennis tournament. But that won't happen often; I'll update as much as I can.**

**Well, that's all!**

**Enjoy this as a sort-of gateway between phase 1 and phase 2 of my story!**

**I dedicate this to my viewers, and my two favorite FanFiction authors: harrypanther and katergator, whose incredible stories (The Guy in the Diner and Walls we Build, respectively) have inspired me to keep writing even when its hard. Thanks so much, you guys are awesome!  
**

**And, of course, a big _WOOHOO_ to Caroline Ayers, my everlasting friend and another big _WOOHOO_ to My-Anh Holmes, my crush.**

**Peace out, dudes and dudettes.**


	17. New Directions

**OMG (and I never say OMG) it feels so weird writing a chapter that doesn't start with "Journey" :)**

**New Directions**

* * *

"I'm not seeing it."

"Relax! It'll come!"

"Wait. There it is!"

"Where?"

"There! You see it!"

"That's just a trick of the light."

"No! There it is again! I'm sure of it!"

"Would you guys stop crowding him?" Fishlegs complained. "The paper will get burned."

Despite the gang's skepticism, Death Ride's flames were doing their job. The secret lines were hard to see at first, probably due to old age and dust, but now they were brightening, snaking across the page, forming symbols and—hopefully—a hidden message.

"What's it say Fishlegs?"

"Can you read it?"

"What's for lunch?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Hey! I'm hungry."

"You always are."

Fishlegs sighed.

"Guys, do you want to eat before I read the map, or…"

He was met with a frantic barrage to continue.

He turned back to the page huffily, and started deciphering the old text. He had a perfect storytelling voice, Ruffnut noted happily, reading the words slowly and carefully.

Fishlegs frowned. "It seems to be a…warning."

"_This page maps a destination you must not seek. _

_The certain misery far outweighs the potential euphoria. _

_I have made this mistake myself. _

_it is too late for me. _

_Heed these warnings, I beg of you."_

Fishlegs gulped, then continued.

_ "There will be those who read ahead, _

_blinded by wanton greed or desperation. _

_It is for these poor souls I continue. _

_I make this map to guide those stronger than I,_

_ to a place of unthinkable treasure _

_surrounded by unspeakable horrors._

_Use the page to seal your fate, for good or for worse;_

_but do not bring companions. _

_None need suffer for your mistakes._

_Before you back away or forge ahead, remember:_

_However sad your existence is now, _

_there is always something worse._

_I speak from my heart; _

_from what broken pieces are left._

_You have my blessing, however much it is worth—_

_it takes valiance to continue when told certain failure awaits._

_I have been called __many things, __many names;_

_but 'liar' is not one of them._

Fishlegs sat down softly, the gang sobered into silence. It seemed like a spell had been cast over the previously cheerful atmosphere, tainting it with the threatening words.

Hiccup was the first to speak after more than a minute of quiet. "What does the map say?"

Fishlegs wordlessly handed him the page, and the rest of the gang slowly walked to peer over his shoulder.

The map showed a series of silhouettes of irregular islands. Though all the sizes and shapes were different, they clearly formed the shape of a cross, or a compass—one island at North, South, East and West. In the center was another island, larger than any other. There were words in some of the hollow coastlines, some were blank.

Several other shapes littered the background, presumably lesser islands. Most were clearly marked in Latin symbols. A couple had no label.

"Hmmm…" Fishlegs tried to decipher the labels of the smaller islands. "That one says 'Useless,' loosely translated. So does that one! That one says…'place of insanity,' that's the closest translation. There's one right next to it…whoa."

"What is it?"

But Fishlegs was silent, perusing the map, making calculations in his head.

"Fishlegs?"

He started, like he was brought back to reality by the words. "Well…I was thinking about the 'place of insanity.' I don't know any of the coastlines on this map; they seem to be silhouettes of places we've never visited. But that one…" he pointed at the island "is very familiar—both the name and the island shape."

Astrid caught on with a gasp. "Berserk!"

The rest of the gang held their breath for a second.

Fishlegs nodded slowly. "If I were a Roman, and I had gotten beat up in battle by a bunch of vikings that went insane during battle, that's what I'd call it."

Hiccup followed the islands with his fingers. "Then that means…that island right there with no Latin…is _the Edge_."

There was silence after that. No one wanted to say what was on everyone's minds. Berserk only had soldiers that went insane after Heather ramped up the training regime, and she did that while the Edge was occupied. That means the only time the mapmaker could have added the coastline was by spying on the island _while the Riders were there. _And the Riders had some of the most advanced security measures in the archipelago in place. The mapmaker must have had incredible skill.

"Well," Snotlout muttered. "good to know we were being watched."

"Technically, he could have made the map of the coastline after he made the map of Berserk, after we had already gone…"

"Impossible." Hiccup sighed. "The ink making up the Edge is lighter than that of Berserk. It was made before, but not by much. And we were there a long time."

The gang gazed at the map thoughtfully. Tuffnut scratched the back of his neck, looking troubled. Ruffnut scratched her helmet, looking anything but intelligent.

"Wait, there!" Fishlegs pointed excitedly towards the southernmost island in the cross, the smallest by far. "The latin! It says '_Aeternam Crepusculum!'"_

Hiccup's eyes widened. "And Berserk is in the southwest area of the cross…Fishlegs, which direction did we go when we found the edge?"

"Northwest."

"Can you find where Berk would be?"

"Um…" Fishlegs stared at the map, muttering calculations. "About here." He said pointing to a blank spot northwest of the southern island.

"How far have we flown?"

"We flew due south at forced pace for about 3 hours…then we took a detour here, going east for maybe 5 minutes. That would put us…about here." He pointed to a spot quite close to the southernmost island.

"Can you determine how far a flight it is between where we are and '_Aeternam Crepusculum_?'"

"Certainly! It was about 3 hours flight in between Berserk and the Edge—and they're about two inches apart on the map. That means…we're barely two day's flying away! At forced pace, of course, maybe three if we're more relaxed."

Hiccup thought carefully. Though tactfully no one had mentioned the Slitherwing incident, he realized it was his fault everyone almost got killed. He wanted to make no mistakes this time.

"We probably scared off the Slitherwings for the time being, with the incredible light show Death Ride here put on…" He absentmindedly scratched Death Ride on the nose. The dragon purred in agreement. "…but that will only be for the next couple of days. They'll be back, and Stormfly hasn't completely healed yet. So, sentry duties start back tonight. Toothless and I will take first and second watch, Fishlegs and Meatlug third, Snotlout and Hookfang fourth. We'll alternate each day until Stormfly's wing heals. Agreed?"

Everyone nodded. There weren't any complains; they all knew what could happen again if there weren't any sentries.

Fishlegs started to role up the map, but Hiccup placed a hand on his arm to stop him.

"What do the other islands say?"

Fishlegs furrowed his brow as he looked at the other islands in the cross.

"Well, the southward island reads 'Eternal Twilight' of course. The northward one reads '_Ignis Frigida,' _ or Cold Fire. West says '_Terra Infractus Vitrium,_' which means the Land of Broken Glass. And East reads '_Animi Contritem_,' or…Shattered Mind, if I'm reading it right."

A somber silence greeted his words.

"Now I kinda to wish you hadn't told us." Tuffnut muttered.

Hiccup wasn't swayed though. "And the center?"

Fishlegs took a deep breath.

"The word is unfamiliar, and has no Norse translation. It seems to be a combination of four or five words. If I'm reading it right…the island is called Dracovivamortem Imperiacaptionem."

"And that means…"

"It is implying the island is home to some sort of dragon monster…one that can control the life or death of others at will. Such a dragon is shown to be unstoppable and uncontrollable. However, the wording also implies the island is not just a home, but a prison. It keeps the monster trapped, keeping the world from destruction." Fishlegs paused. "Latin is very descriptive. It can convey different emotions with different words, and in five words can convey all I just said in several dozen. If it was different, I would not be able to have so much information."

"You've done very well, Fishlegs. We couldn't be here without you." Hiccup assured him.

The group shared a moment of awkward silence, none able to break the somber mood.

Except Ruffnut. "I'm hungry."

Everyone chuckled, and made their way out of the stable, towards the sick bay, which also served as the food hall.

Fishlegs stayed behind for a few minutes. He gazed at the cross of islands, but especially at the center. Toothless was the king of dragons, right? No one could stop that.

But a dragon that could kill instantly…

He shook off the sudden uncomfortable feeling and hurried after the others.


	18. The Last Night

**Hey guys...sorry about the delay. I was trying to figure out which angle to put this chapter in. Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Last Night**

* * *

**SNOTLOUT**

Finally! We're leaving!

It has taken another week and a half, but Stormfly's wing has completely healed. The skin is still tender, but she can fly okay, just not with any sharp turns or at top speed. Fishlegs says that now that the skin has connected, flying will help it toughen up, healing it quicker.

I normally wouldn't care what Fishbrain says, but Hookfang has stayed near Stormfly for most of the time since the Screaming Death thingy. He hasn't flown much. I can tell he's really worried about her, so I've been hanging around. About time she starts flying, so we can get off this smelly pile of rock.

There was one more attack a couple of days—more Slitherwings: but I think Toothless has finally gotten it into their heads that he's a Night Fury, and the King of Dragons. They kinda hissed a bit, bowed, and slithered off—but not before they completely fish-afied the Twin's hut. Sadly, they weren't in it—Tuff is still sleeping outside, and Ruff has joined him. I haven't flirted with her at all since the whole Fishlegs thing. It just doesn't seem like the right thing to do. She was really worried about the pudgy dude.

Anyway, I can't think about Ruffnut right now.

Ugh. That other _her_ again. I just can't get her out of my head. Part of me wishes I had never met her…

But that other part really wants to see her again…

* * *

While Snotlout is up early, pacing behind the dragon stables, the rest of the riders are still sound asleep. Well, mostly.

'_Hmmmm…' _Astrid groaned sleepily, golden light filtering through her barely cracked eyelids. "Why is it so _bright_…" She tried to sit up and turn over, but a pair of strong arms are wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her closer and closer to the warm body next to her. She smiled sleepily and snuggled closer to Hiccup in a reflex motion…

…until she realized that he didn't have a shirt on, and she was only wearing some leggings and a tight bra that was _way_ too revealing.

She let out a yelp of surprise and pushed at Hiccup's torso urgently, and he slowly woke up, groaning, and loosened his arms. Astrid sat straight upright, cheeks flame-red with embarrassment.

Hiccup slowly followed, sitting up groggily and mumbling "good morning," before slouching against the headboard and gazing at the visibly-tense girl with puzzled eyes. "Milady?"

Astrid sighed and looked down, cheeks flaming even brighter in the sunlight flooding into Hiccup's makeshift hut.

Hiccup tried again. "What's wrong, Astrid? Today's the last day! Stormfly's healed! We can finally start flying again! And no one has to stay up on sentry duty anymore…including me…" He punctuated the last statement with a playful shove that managed to raise a faint small on Astrid's lips, but her shoulders still slumped.

The silence stretched on, Astrid too embarrassed to break it, Hiccup too confused. He was looking half expectant, half worried, until he_ finally_ saw Astrid's obvious blush, and guessed what was in her mind. "Oh, gods, I'm and idiot, aren't I?"

Astrid looked away, so he couldn't see her blush growing even more pronounced, if that was possible. But she still didn't say anything.

Hiccup slowly rolled his legs over to his side of the bed, and stood up. He didn't notice Astrid following his every move out of the corner of her eye, looking especially interested in his chest, the way his muscles rippled and moved in the light, and how he stretched them out in the most eye-catching way possible…

She quickly looked the other way.

She could hear him moving about in the dim light, and when he came back into eyesight she saw he had put on a rust-red shirt that really accented his auburn hair, perfectly tousled even though he just got out of bed…

She realized he was talking to her. "…I mean, you are my girlfriend, so I didn't see anything wrong with it. It's not like we did…_that_…" He looked down shyly, and Astrid could literally_ feel_ his blushing.

Astrid sighed. "I know, Hiccup. It's just…I'm supposed to be a _warrior._ Fearless! Unbreakable! Without mercy. It feels so…_weird_…letting my guard down—even to you." She thought of her Uncle Finn, who even fought a _Flightmare _to defend Berk. "That's what a Hofferson is."

Hiccup's face fell completely, and it took her 2 full seconds to rewind what she said in her mind, and realize that she had said a horrible mistake.

Hiccup was already moving to the door, eyes gleaming with unshed tears. Astrid rushed to his side, grabbing his arm desperately.

"Oh, Hiccup! I am so sorry! I didn't mean it like that! Your father was a great warrior...oh gods, you've got to believe me! I didn't mean it…"

Hiccup suddenly whirled around, throwing her off his arm. She stumbled back a few steps, almost losing her balance. She looked up pleadingly, but his eyes were filled with anger…and behind that, terrible, petrifying sadness.

"Is this why you wanted to go with me?" She started at the anger in his voice. "Just so you could _prove_ yourself? Not because you actually wanted to _help_, Thor save me, that would be _crazy_…" He was almost shouting now, and Astrid closed her eyes in despair. "All this time, huh? You've been there to protect me; poor, sorry little Hiccup Haddock, down a leg and a dad and trying to make his way into the world. Is this all it is, Astrid? PITY?!"

He said this last word with a horrible hiss of contempt that made Astrid stomach plummet and tears start prickling in her tightly shut eyes.

Hiccup looked about ready to start up again, but then he noticed Astrid's face, twisted and tear streaked, seeming only a foot tall, as if she was about to get stepped on.

He suddenly saw another figure in her place, a huge man with a flaming-red beard, skin sallow and grey, eyes lifeless…

His anger melted away as soon as it had come.

He knelt by her, hugged her, kissed her hair over and over, but she was still crying, shaking with emotion.

Hiccup finally stood up, physically and mentally exhausted. Neither of them knew what to say, and oddly, neither wanted to know

He decided to break the silence with a change of subject. "Well…I'm going to go check on Stormfly…see if she's ready to start flying." He turned around, but that small, rebellious, sarcastic streak in him made him mutter _"you're a Hofferson after all…you should be fine without me."_

As he slowly walked out into the cool morning, he didn't see Astrid's head snap up, a spark of anger in her ice-blue eyes, then slowly bend down in defeat, tears forming again.

Apparently, Hoffersons have excellent hearing...

* * *

**A/N: Hiccup and Astrid weren't...you know...that, but Astrid was feeling embarrassed and Hiccup was in a vulnerable state. Any OOC acts by Hiccup were because of his feeling of failure caused by the recent death of his father.**


	19. Gone?

**Gone?**

* * *

Hiccup sighed and sank back on his bed, then immediately regretted it when he remembered that his makeshift cot wasn't as near as soft as his own bed back at Berk. 'Ow…' he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head at the audible *thump* when his head hit the wood. He closed his eyes, ignoring the exasperating sheet of paper on his chest. He had looked at the rhyme so many times in the past hour that he had it memorized; there was no real need for him to strain his eyes looking at it. And besides, he was exhausted. Physically, and emotionally.

The Riders were packing. While walking too Stormfly's stable, he had a surprise encounter with a very uptight and pacing Snotlout. While he had said he was just ready to "get off this stinking piece of rock, already," Hiccup wasn't sure if he was telling the whole truth. He seemed to be hiding something. However, he didn't notice any signs of mischief, so he had brushed off his doubts and sent Snotlout off to the huts to wake everyone up. He had gratefully scurried away, before Hiccup could notice the small spark of pain in his eyes.

Stormfly was rather more of a problem actually. She seemed very irritable, and squawked loudly when he had entered. She even gave him a nip on the hand when he tried to calm her, and only let Hiccup get close with a leg of chicken. She had scarfed it down, then promptly turned her back and fell asleep, head tucked under her wing. He had sighed, but he knew why the dragon was upset. She hadn't gotten to fly for _ages_, and Astrid hadn't come to see her yet…

_Astrid. _He sighed again, and put the exasperating riddle next to him on his distressingly empty bed. While he walked back from the stable, he was rehearsing an abject apology for his harsh words, particularly his parting remark, which he had a creeping suspicion she may have heard. He was internally kicking himself for letting that sarcastic streak that he hated rise up again. He knew exactly what he would say when he saw her—but when he got back to his hut, Astrid was gone. He looked all over the camp, but she was nowhere to be found. Neither was her axe, which wasn't a good sign. Astrid had been known to mutilate trees when she got mad, and we had _just_ impressed on the Slitherwings that we weren't taking over their territory, and that we'll be leaving soon. What would they think of a yelling, axe-wielding woman trying to single-handedly deforest the entire island?

What was _he_ thinking? He was trying to blame this on Astrid—like she was the problem. _'No,_' he thought wearily. _'I'm the problem. I'm always the problem. Face it…you'll always be little, skinny Hiccup, a runt and an accident, with a ferocious, amazing, beautiful girlfriend who could probably snap you in half and you definitely don't deserve…though maybe I don't even have her anymore…'_

Suddenly, he heard a small gasp. He looked up in alarm…

…straight into the face of a red-eyed Astrid, still clutching an axe and with splinters in her hair. That's when he realized—he had said that _out loud…_

Did I mention Hoffersons have good hearing?

* * *

**ASTRID**

"AHHHHHHAAH!" My axe slammed into the tree in front of me perfectly, sinking almost the full blade-length before stopping, quivering with the force of my throw. I slumped down on the ground, and put my face in my hands.

This is what I was talking about! There's something about Hiccup…he always makes me feel like I've done something wrong. Which I did! I understand that. But, his reaction…that was horrible! Why would he ever think that I would like…_love_…him just because of…pity? Is that how low his confidence is? I thought I had drilled that out of him—many_, many_ times…

Wait a minute. I have! I did it again right before we left on this stupid trip! There's no reason he should be doing this to me! I haven't done anything wrong…except for that slip of the tongue. But he should know I would never think something like that! That scrawny…

I leapt up, grabbing my axe, and I start back on the trail of splintered trees I've made. What? I was upset. Anyway, I'm going to go give Hiccup a piece of my mind! Or my axe, if that doesn't work.

I can soon see the camp ahead of me, and I increase my pace. I glimpse Snotlout from behind his hut. He glanced up, his face creased in puzzlement when he saw me. It didn't really matter to me: he _always_ looks like that.

I walked straight to Hiccup's hut and was about to open the door when I heard a sigh and a loud thump. Then a slightly whiny '_Ow…_'

I couldn't help it. The childish note in his voice caused a small smile to lift my lips. I shook off the slight happy feeling, and hastily composed my face into a menacing scowl. I'm supposed to be mad! I reach my hand up to the handle…but I hear a soft muttering that freezes me up. "Face it…accident…" I strain my ears, and the mumbling gets clearer.

"…with a ferocious, amazing, beautiful girlfriend who could probably snap you in half and you definitely don't deserve…though maybe I don't even have her anymore…" My eyes snapped open, and I gave an involuntarily gasp. One thought formed in my head—_oh no you don't_.

I pulled his door open, and strode into his small hut. He was lying on his bed, eyes closed, but he looked up at me when I walked in. His mouth formed a perfect O, and he just sat there frozen. I knew what to do.

I practically ran over, scrambled onto his bed, and slammed our lips together.

_Mmmm_. Much better.

* * *

_3 days later…_

I looked over at Hiccup for what must be the millionth time since we left the island. It made sense. We were flying right next to each other, wings practically touching. He was smiling, which made me smile too. He looked a lot happier than he did leaving Berk…maybe this trip _has_ been good for something…

"Umm…guys?"

The voice of Fishlegs jumped me out of my thoughts. "Yeah?" I called back.

"I think there's a problem."

That got everyone's attention. We all knew what a 'problem' could mean…we've had more than our fair share of them on this mission. I glanced down at Stormy's still-weak wing before calling a halt. All the riders stopped flying forward and started hovering around Fishlegs. Even from where Stormfly was flying, near the front of the formation, I could see Fishlegs' faint blush at all the attention. "What's wrong, Fish?" Hiccup called from beside me.

"I can't seem to find where we're going. We've been flying for a while…and we should be very near the island by now. According to the map, it's almost twice as big as the Edge, so we definitely should be able to see it…but there's no sign of land. You know, seagulls, rocks, anything…" He trailed off. Snotlout finished the thought in my head.

"So you're saying there isn't an island of Ater-cruspy whatever? It was all some sort of trick?"

Fishlegs gulped. "It seems that way." The Riders were silent.

Hiccup broke the silence. "We need to fan out. Maybe we've missed it."

There were nods all around, but Snotlout still looked mad, and Fishlegs nervous.

"Snot—you go with Tuff and Death Ride." Yeah. Tuff was riding his Whispering Death instead of Belch. Said that his sister's back hair smelled, so he needed some space. Whatever that meant. "Ruff, you're with Fishlegs. Astrid—with me." He turned and gave me a small smile.

"My pleasure!" I grinned back. His smile widened, then turned back to the others, who were all looking almost comically uncomfortable at our exchange. My smile impossibly widened. Let them wonder what being in relationship was like.

"…different directions." Hiccup was saying. "We'll meet back at nightfall." I started smiling again. The sun wouldn't go down for hours yet—and that meant time with Hiccup. _Alone_. With nothing to do. The smile turned into a grin. I'm sure we could find _something_…

* * *

After 4 hours, though, I wasn't really grinning anymore. _Nothing_. No trace. This is stupid. How can the island be invisible? No one else had found anything. I hated to say it, but I think Snotlout was right. It must be some sort of trick.

Hiccup sighed beside me. The look on his face made me want to crack my axe over the head whoever thought up this prank. And then kick them. Hard. Then lock them up for a billion years. Then kick them again. I was mad, okay?

"I guess we should go back, right?" That was Ruff. Even she was looking sad, and she didn't even want to _come_ on this trip. Tuff looked devastated. He kept touching the back of his neck, like he was in pain. Snot just looked annoyed. Fishlegs was consulting his map, seeing if he missed anything. I already knew he hadn't—he never does.

Hiccup nodded once, then composed his face. He looked over at me, and gave a small smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "You want to lead the way back home, Milady?"

I tried to smile back, but it didn't really work, so I just turned Stormfly around and started flying back the way we came…

…and that's _exactly_ when the music started.


	20. The War of Thoughts

**False Emotions**

I had no words. My mind went completely blank, except for this…_beautiful_ sound.

It was like the entire ocean was filled with music, an amazing symphony of harmonious notes and emotions, sometimes running, sprinting, sometimes walking, almost stopping entirely, before speeding up, laughing at our astonished faces. It wasn't a song—it was a moving, _living_ presence that walked among the skies, swam in the seas, flew right next to us for tantalizing seconds, before streaking away, only to return with a beaming smile a minute later. Dimly, I was aware of tears prickling my eyes, and suddenly, without me realizing it, I swung Stormfly around to where the sound seemed to be coming from. There was something in me that was filled with longing; for a world with incredible bliss, with no wars, no fighting, with only happiness and beautiful sounds…

Again, seemingly from a long distance, I noticed the Riders around me turning also, in my same direction. They were quite blurry…was that bad? I strained my eyes, trying to make them out… Suddenly, the sound dimmed slightly. It was small, but it was very noticeable. My head snapped back in alarm. No! I can't lose it!

I pushed Stormfly urgently, and I could feel her moving beneath me. The music started getting louder again. The yearning in my chest suddenly grew ten-fold, and I knew I _had_ to get there. I just needed to follow the music…follow the music…

I squeezed Stormfly as hard as I could with my legs, trying to increase her speed. The music got louder and louder, so much it hurt my head, but still I flew, closer and closer to the land of my dreams…I felt tears streaming down my face, because some part of me now felt immeasurably sad...We flew faster and faster, and my arms and legs began to ache, but still we flew, music pounding in my head, tears streaming down my face…now I _had_ to get there, just to get away from this horrible sadness, into the beautiful world beyond…

_The certain misery far outweighs the potential euphoria._

I gasped as the sentence flashed through my head, bitingly-clear from a life long before…

_ However sad your existence is now, there is always something worse._

Now, those simple words seem to have a new meaning...

The spell was broken. The song faded from my mind. The tears stopped. I sat up straight. Even the pain in my body was ebbing away! My mind filled with thoughts, memories, emotions of my own…and that's when I realized what a fool I had been. These were the real things…infinitely stronger then the empty promises of the music…

Wait! Stormfly!

I pulled on the dragon, trying to get her to stop flying. But, it was just as I feared…she wouldn't stop, seemingly not even noticing me…she was caught up in a world of her own, the false world I was dreaming for.

On the horizon, a faint speck could be seen, growing larger every second. The music started again in my head, weakening my resolve, pulling the strength from my limbs and replacing it with lead…still Stormfly pulled onward, flying closer and closer until the island started to take shape.

I fought the music and focused on the land in front of me. It was huge—bigger than Berk, even from this distance. Bigger than any island I've seen.

The music was back, dancing in front of me, I was struck with how fighting it was exhausting…so much easier to just give in…it was only sound, after all…_amazing_ sounds…

The island grew closer and now I could see the colors…or maybe just color. The whole island seemed to be one shade of grey that was surprisingly ominous. I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise…and suddenly, something wasn't right. There was a feeling in the air that made the music, still playing in the background, fade. My senses returned slowly, and I felt Stormfly shift in alarm. The island grew closer. I suddenly realized I was alone—none of the riders were anywhere in sight.

_None need suffer for your mistakes._

Uh-oh. This doesn't look good.

But still, the music grew stronger, blocking out the disturbance in my mind, soothing my fluttering nerves…I closed my eyes, the dim light from the sunset suddenly scorchingly bright…I felt myself slipping away…

…until the unthinkable happened.

The music _stopped._

I cried out in alarm, right as Stormfly reared back, squawking madly. Suddenly, my mind sprang back from the pit it was in, and that small feeling of uneasiness exploded. Fear filled my body, a shivering, quaking_ terror_ that was impossibly powerful…and I knew instinctively it was coming from the horrible grey_…thing_, barely a minute's flight away.

I couldn't fight it. My head was exhausted, first fighting the music, then Stormfly, and my body was exhausted. I could feel Stormfly moving slowly, and the fear multiplied, surpassing whatever I felt when I fell a lifetime ago…

The Fearless Astrid Hofferson laid her head down on her dragon's saddle, and waited for the end to come.

In what seemed like hours later, she felt a jolt run through her, and the fear melted away, leaving her body horribly empty. She had no strength left in her. She fell off her saddle, and groaned when her aching body hit the ground. It felt like rock…really _really_ hard rock. And cold! Freezing! Yikes!

The shock caused her so jump up, already shivering. What _was_ this place? She was starving, exhausted, parched, and now quickly turning cold in the windy air. Thunder cracked over head—that was weird. There weren't any storm clouds around before…

Lost in thought it took her a second glance before she noticed that there was a figure standing right in front of her.

Her already shot nerves made this surprise all the more unpleasant. She screamed and jumped up, landing on her backside in a _very_ undignified way. The figure moved closer, and now she could make out a silhouette…it looked like a boy, a little taller than her. He seemed to have…claws?

Before she could back away, a surprisingly warm voice spoke out of the darkness and stopped her in her tracks.

"Welcome." The silhouette started. "I know the mental strain you have just endured, so I will not bother with questions. Come. Rest. It will help." He spoke in Old Norse.

A few seconds later, she felt a hand, also surprisingly warm in the frigid air, gently grab her arm. With constant pressure, she was lifted to her feet. She heard Stormfly behind her begin to get up. With quiet encouragement from the figure, she began to walk slowly, tiredly, feet gaining very little traction on the icy rocks. Her feet slid out continuously, but the mysterious boy—for the voice was clearly masculine—grabbed her arm quick enough every time, and helped her to her feet.

After a few minutes of silent movement, her mind formed the question she would have asked first if she wasn't so exhausted. She could barely form the words, and the question "Who are you?" came out as a raspy croak that scraped her vocal cords and sent her into a coughing fit. When it finally ended, she was barely conscious, every part of her body hurting.

The silhouette stopped and gently lifted Astrid into his arms. Usually, she would have balked at such a gesture, but now she welcomed the extra warmth the figure seemed to exude. She burrowed closer, mumbling incoherently. The figure started walking, feet finding purchase easily where Astrid's feet tripped. Even carrying her, they moved a lot faster. Astrid was barely aware of a passing of time before the dim light entering her eyelids was extinguished, and she was laid down on something soft. A faint _squawk _echoed through her ear, and she was aware of something freezing cold and scaly settle down next to her. She didn't mind though. Stormfly was always welcome…

Her throat seemed to be a little stronger now, so she tried to speak again. "Who…are…you?"

She opened her eyes slightly, but she couldn't see anything. The place she was resting seemed to be sheathed in blackness. She suddenly felt the presence of the mystery figure beside her. Her mind dimly recognized she had not heard him approach.

"Rest. You are safe for the night." He said softly. "My name is not important at this moment."

She resisted, shifting away from his warmth. She needed to know at least the name of her rescuer. "Who are…you?"

The boy sighed. "I see you will not take no for an answer." Silence for several seconds. "While my name is not reflective of who I may or may not be, it will give you solace for your sleep, so I will answer."

The gentle voice was slowly sending her drifting off, but she still heard his final words.

"In my language, my title is Umbra. In yours—Dusk."

She finally fell into dreamless, soothing, merciful sleep. The crouching figure beside her makeshift bed sighed, and stood up. He was surprised the Norse girl in front of her was strong enough to speak at all. None of the others were. He looked around the cave, lost in thought.

His eyes lingered over the sleeping shapes of 5 bruised and battered vikings, and beside them, their dragons. One pair of blind eyes watched his every move, following his silent footsteps. The figure laughed when he noticed the Whispering Death, and walked over to give it a good scratch.

"You have done well, Percutien Aurora. You have not had to endure the shadow's song for many years. I am glad you are finally home. Rest well."

The dragon snuffled once in agreement, and the boy backed away, still smiling slightly.

Then he turned around and sank down athletically at the entrance to the cave, peering out to the grayness beyond. Even now, with the sun barely down, the rains were starting, starting to buffet the rocks, and the walls of the cave shed dust as the first of the tremors rocked the ground far below. But even above this clamor, the boy's sharp ears picked up the sound they were straining for—a low, pulsing _hum _that seemed to be coming from both below the rocks and high in the air. The boy suddenly stood up, and quickly walked towards the back of the cave, towards his own bed.

He was exhausted as well—and it was _much _safer inside.


	21. Author's Confessions III

**Hey guys!**

**Ok, so let me get this out of the way-I don't think I've been writing to my full potential. I don't want to brag, but my best writing won a regional essay contest; and that was two years ago, before I started taking writing classes. School has really picked up, and I'm kind of being rushed in this story. So, here's what I'm gonna do.**

**Starting today, I'm going to rewrite every chapter I've written to make it longer and have more details that I missed out from my original storyboards. I know its cruel, because the next chapter will explain everything, but I really want my writing to be its best. Also, its been a while since the start...you could re-read! I recommend it, especially before the Journey. There are a lot of elements that I'm going to include in the final parts of my story. **

**Also, Spoiler-this story is organized like this: Phase 1, transition phase, Phase 2, transition phase, Phase 3, and a Multi-part finale. Each phase introduces something new into the story. For Phase 1, it was the Journey. These last 4 chapters after it were the transition phase, and I'm about to begin Phase 2, where the plot becomes explained. **

**Thanks to everyone who has viewed (and re-viewed)-up to 2,600 views! YAY.**

**Okay, time for dedications. This stage is dedicated to my creative animation teacher, Mrs. Aaron, who just contracted stage 2 breast cancer. I wish you all the best!**

**All right-that's all, I think. **

**Peace out, dudes and dudettes**


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